Upcoming
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(All events on Oahu, unless noted)
2010
November
Aloha State BJJ Championships: Final Conflict
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
August
Hawaiian Open Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
3/20/10
Tentative
Hawaiian Championships of BJJ
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
1/30/10
Destiny
(Level 4, Royal HI Shopping Ctr)
(MMA)
Quest for Champions
(Pankration/Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS)
1/23/10
Kauai Knockout Championship Total Domination
(MMA & Kickboxing)
(Kauai War Memorial Convention Center, Lihue, Kauai)
1/17/10
X1: Showdown In Waipahu
(Boxing, Kickboxing, MMA)
(Waipahu H.S. Gym)
2009
12/19/09
MMA at Level 4
(MMA)
(Level 4 RHSC)
12/17/09
Scrap MMA Event
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe)
12/5/09
Aloha
State Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
12/4/09
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
11/21/09
X-1 LIGHTS OUT
(MMA)
(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)
UFC
106
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas)
11/14/09
UFC
105
(United Kingdom)
11/8/09
X-1 Scuffle at Schofield
(MMA)
(Tropics, Schofield Barracks)
11/7/09
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing/Triple Threat)
(Waiphu Filcom)
11/6/09
Up & Up
(MMA)
(Kapolei High School)
11/1/09
Boxing
(Palolo District Park Gym)
10/31/09
H.A.P.A.
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association
Hit-And-Submit
#4
(Pankration)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
10/30/09
Niko's MMA Event
(MMA)
(Veterans Hall, Keehi Lagoon)
10/24/09
X-1:
Scuffle on Schofield 2: Homebound Heroes
Press conference, autograph signing & picture taking
(Tropics Rec Center, Schofield Air Force Base, Wahiawa)
UFC
104
(Staples Center, Los Angeles)
10/18/09
NAGA
Hawaii
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Pearl City H.S. Gym)
10/17/09
Just Scrap
(MMA)
(Hilo Civic Auditorium, Hilo)
10/10/09
Man Up & Stand Up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom)
10/3/09
Destiny Unfinished Business
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
9/19/09
UFC
103
(American Airlines Center, Dallas)
9/16/09
UFC
Fight Night 19
(Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City)
9/12/09
Hawaiian
Open Championship
of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser H.S. Gym)
Up & Up
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
8/29/09
MAUI OPEN 2009
Submission Grappling Challenge
(Sub Grappling)
(Maui War Memorial Gym)
Island Assult
(Boxing)
(Blaisdell Arena)
UF1C
102
(Rose Garden, Portland)
8/22/09
Destiny: Maui vs. Oahu
(MMA)
(War Memorial Gym, Maui)
8/15/09
Mad Skills
(Kickboxing & Triple Threat)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
8/9/09
WEC
(Las Vegas, NV)
8/8/09
UFC
101: Declaration
(BJ Penn vs. Kenny Florian)
(Wachovia Center, Philadelphia)
8/1/09
Affliction: Trilogy
Fedor vs. Barnett
(Honda Cetner, Anaheim, CA)
7/25/09
X-1
Scuffle On Schofield
(MMA)
(Tropics Recreation Center, Schofield Barracks)
Amateur Boxing at Palolo
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
Gracie Tournament
(Kalaheo H.S. Gym)
**Cancelled**
7/23/09
JUST SCRAP
(MMA)
(Pipeline Cafe)
7/20/09
Dream 10: Welterweight GP Final
(Japan)
7/11/09
UFC
100: Lesnar vs. Mir
(Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, NV)
7/10/09
Man up and Stand up
(Kickboxing)
(Waipahu Filcom Center)
6/27-28/09
OTM's 2009
Pac Sub
(Gi & No-Gi competition)
(Blaisdell Exhibition Hall)
6/20/09
The
Ultimate Fighter 9:
Team US vs Team UK Finale
6/13/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
UFC
99: Comeback
Silva vs. Franklin
(Cologne, Germany)
6/7/09
WEC: Brown vs. Faber 2
(Versus)
6/6/09
Quest for Champions 2009 Tournament
(Sport Pankration, Sub Grappling)
(Kalani HS Gym)
Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields
(St. Louis, MO)
6/4/09 - 6/7/09
World
JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA)
5/30/09
Event of the Champions
(Triple Threat, Kickboxing, Grappling)
(Elite Auto Group Center)
5/26/09
Dream 9
5/23/09
UFC
98: Evans vs. Machida
(PPV)
5/16/09
KTI's Scrappa Lifestylez
Scrapplers Fest
(BJJ/Submission Grappling)
(Kauai)
5/9/09 - 5/10/09 &
5/16/09 - 5/17/09
Brazilian Nationals JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
5/9/09
X-1 Kona
(MMA)
(Kekuaokalani Gym, Kona)
15th Grapplers Quest Las Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Las Vegas, NV)
5/2/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Waipahu Filcom)
Uprising MMA
(MMA)
(Maui)
May 2009
Abu Dhabi World Submission Wrestling Championships
(Sub Grappling)
(Tentative)
4/25/09
MMA Madness Water Park Extravaganza
(MMA)
(Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park, Kapolei)
4/18/08
Kingdom
MMA
(MMA)
(Blaisdell Arena)
NY
International JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
4/11/09
Hawaiian
Championship of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
(BJJ & Sub Grappling)
(Kaiser High)
X-1: Temple of Boom
(Boxing & MMA)
(Palolo Hongwangi)
4/10/09
HFC: Stand Your Ground XII
(MMA, Kickboxing)
(Dole Cannery Ballroom)
4/4/09 - 4/5/09
NAGA
World Championship
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(NJ, Tentative)
3/28/09
Garden Island Cage Match
(MMA)
(Hanapepe Stadium, Hanapepe, Kauai)
3/27/09
- 3/29/09
Pan
Am JJ Championships
(BJJ)
(Carson, CA)
3/27/09
Tiger Muay Thai Competition
(Muay Thai)
(Tiger Muay Thai Gym, Sand Island Road)
3/21/09 - 3/22/09
$30k Grapplers Quest/Fight Expo/Make a Wish Weekend
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Del Mar, CA)
NAGA US Nationals
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Georgia)
3/14/09
Hawaii Amateur Pankration Association: "Hit and Submit"
(Pankration & Muay Thai)
(O-Lounge Night Club, Honolulu)
NAGA Vegas
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
3/7/09
UFC 96
(PPV)
(Columbus, OH)
Grapplers Quest Beast of the East
(BJJ/Sub Grappling)
(Wildwood, New Jersey)
2/27/09
X-1 World Events
NEW BEGINNING"
(MMA)
(Maui War Memorial Gym, Wailuku, Maui)
2/21/09
Destiny
(MMA)
(Filcom Center, Waipahu)
UFC
95
(PPV)
(London, England)
2/15/09
X1 World Events
Temple of Boom: Fight Night III
(MMA)
(Palolo Hongwanji)
2/8/09
IWFF
Submission Wrestling Tournament
(No-Gi)
(IWFF Academy, Wailuku, Maui)
2/7/09
4th Annual Clint Shelton Memorial
(Boxing)
(Palolo Gym)
Manup and Standup
(Kickboxing)
(Kapolei Rec Center, Kapolei)
UFC Fight Night
(PPV)
(Tampa, FL)
1/31/09
UFC 93 BJ vs GSP
(PPV)
(MGM Grand, Las Vegas, NV)
1/30/09
MMA Event
(MMA)
(Schofield Barracks)
1/24/09
Eddie Bravo Seminar
(BJJ)
1/17/09
UFC
93
(PPV)
(Dublin, Ireland)
1/10/09
MAT ATTACK Jiu-Jitsu & Submission Grappling Tournament
(Sub Wrestling)
(Lihikai School, Kahului, Maui)
1/3/08
Uprising - Maui
(MMA)
(Paukukalo Hawaiian Homes Gym)
Hazardous Warfare - Maui
(MMA)
(Lahaina Civic Center)
|
|
January
2010 News Part 2
|
Casca Grossa Jiu-Jitsu
is now the O2 Martial Arts Academy with 7 days a week training!
We are also offering Kali-Escrima (stick fighting) on Monday
nights with Ian Beltran and Kickboxing Tuesday, Wednesday and
Thursday with Kaleo Kwan, PJ Dean, & Chris Slavens!
Kids Classes are also
available!
Click
here for info!
Take classes from
the Onzuka brothers in a family-like environment! |
Looking
for a hotel room on Oahu?
Check out this reasonably priced, quality hotel in Waikiki!
For
the special Onzuka.com price, click banner above! |
 |
Fighters'
Club TV
The Toughest Show
On Teleivision
Tuesdays
at 8:00PM
Olelo Channel 52 on Oahu
Also on Akaku on Maui
Check
out the FCTV website! |
Onzuka.com
Hawaii Underground Forum is Online!
Chris, Mark,
and I wanted to start an official Onzuka.com forum for a while
now. We were searching for the best forum to go with and hit
a gold mine! We have known Kirik, who heads the largest and most
popular forum on the net, The Underground for years.
He
offered us our own forum within the matrix know as MMA.tv. The
three of us will be the moderators with of course FCTV808 being
the lead since he is on there all day anyway!
We
encourage everyone from Hawaii and our many readers around world
to contribute to the Hawaii Underground.
If you
do not have a login, it's simple and fast to get one.
Click here to set up an account.
Don't worry about using Pidgin English in the posting. After
all it is the Hawaii Underground and what is a Hawaii Underground
without some Aloha and some Pidgin?
To
go directly to the Onzuka.com Hawaii Underground Forum
click here!
|
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to Advertise on Onzuka.com?
Click here for pricing and more
information!
Short term and long term advertising available.
More than
1 million hits and counting!
|
O2
Martial Arts Academy
Your Complete Martial Arts School!
Click here for pricing and more
information!
O2 Martial Arts features Relson Gracie Jiu-Jitsu taught by Relson
Gracie Black Belts Chris and Mike Onzuka and Shane Agena as well
as a number of brown and purple belts.
We also offer a Boxing and Kickboxing classes with a staff that
is unmatched. Boxing, Kickboxing, and MMA champions Kaleo Kwan
and PJ Dean as well as master boxing instructor Chris Slavens
provide incredibly detailed instruction of the sweet science.
To top it off, Ian Beltran & Erwin Legaspi heads our Kali-Escrima
classes (Filipino Stickfighting) who were directly trained under
the legendary Snookie Sanchez.
Just a beginner with no background? Perfect! We teach you from
the ground up!
Experienced martial artist that wants to fine tune your skill?
Our school is for you!
If you want to learn martial arts by masters of their trade in
a friendly and family environment, O2 Martial Arts Academy is
the place for you!
|
Want to Contact
Us? Shoot us an email by Clicking Here!
Follow O2 Martial Arts news via Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/O2MAA
Quote
of the Day
"It's
easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you're
a winner, when you're number one. What you got to have is faith
and discipline when you're not a winner."
Vince
Lombardi, 1913-1970, American Football Coach
|
HENDERSON
LOOKING FOR NEW BLOOD IN WEC
Getting a championship belt is a great accomplishment, but for
new WEC lightweight titleholder Ben Henderson, he still has goals
he's yet to achieve. It's not just about winning the belt for
him, he wants to be the best in the world and that requires facing
the best in the world.
2009
marked a meteoric rise for Henderson, who made his WEC debut
and won the interim 155-pound belt in the span of 12 month. Just
a week ago, Henderson submitted Jamie Varner to unify the WEC
titles and is now ready to defend that belt for the first time.
There
has been a lot of speculation already about who Henderson might
face for his first title defense. Of course, Donald "Cowboy"
Cerrone rockets to the top of that list, after the bout he and
Henderson had last year that most considered to be the best fight
for all of 2009. The new champion is ready to face all challengers,
but hopes that there is new blood on the horizon.
"Absolutely
nothing against Cowboy (Donald Cerrone), nothing against Shane
Roller, nothing against Anthony Njokuani, those are kind of the
top guys right now in the WEC at 55. Nothing against any of those
guys, they're all tough guys. I'm sure they're all better than
when I faced them, but yeah I would definitely like to fight
other guys," Henderson told MMAWeekly Radio recently.
It's
an issue the WEC is sure to address over the coming months considering
that every fighter from Cerrone to Njokuanki, Henderson has faced
and beaten. He’s is open to a rematch with any of them,
but still wants to face new opponents as well.
"I
don't really want to have to round-robin fight everyone I had
to fight on my way to the top, have to fight all those guys all
over again," Henderson commented. "I would like to
see some new faces, some good top talent or whatever."
There
have been several rumors floating around about who might fight
who, or who will get a shot at Henderson's title. The champion
has heard the same rumors, and is just waiting for the dust to
settle on a No. 1 contender.
"From
what I've heard it's going to be Varner, or Cerrone, or Njokuani,
or Roller, four of those guys fighting amongst each other to
see who the next No. 1 contender is," he said. "Cause
all of those guys have a pretty strong case for it."
It's
clear though that the work for Ben Henderson is far from over,
and he's ready to prove it time and time again.
"I
want to be the best in the world and I want to fight the best
in the world," Henderson stated. "Doesn't matter who
it's against."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WHY
MMA? HERSCHEL WALKER HAS THE ANSWER
All
the questions surrounding former NFL star Herschel Walker’s
entrance into the world of competitive mixed martial arts center
on why.
Why,
at 47 years of age, is he striking out on a new sports endeavor?
Why something as complex as mixed martial arts? Why something
as brutal as mixed martial arts?
Why,
why, why?
Well...
the former Olympian has answers.
Walker
knows, already fighting Father Time, the window is closing. Forty
may be the new 30, but no man defies age eternally.
“I’m
at a age, it ain’t like I’m gonna be doing this forever.
And it ain’t like I’m gonna be winning a belt anytime
soon, because that’s not gonna happen. But I know I can
compete, and can compete well,” he said on a recent press
junket in New York City.
Competing
is the defining factor in all of Walker’s answers, in his
life, and he’s good at it, at every level.
He
was the valedictorian of his high school class and led his football
team to a state championship. In college, he helped the Georgia
Bulldogs win the national championship and won the 1982 Heisman
Trophy as the nation’s top collegiate football player.
Moving
on to the pros, Walker set records in the short-lived United
States Football League before moving on to the National Football
League (NFL) where he was a back-to-back Pro Bowl player.
He
nearly made the Olympics as a sprinter, and did make it as part
of a two-man bobsled team, finishing seventh at the 1992 Winter
Olympics.
Mixed
martial arts is his latest conquest following a lifelong love
affair. He began watching the sport as a fan, like most others,
more than 15 years ago when Royce Gracie was changing everyone’s
conception of combat.
“I’ve
been in martial arts for years,” said the Tae Kwon Do sixth
degree black belt. “I think a lot of people are gonna be
very impressed with my ground game. I think people are gonna
be impressed with my MMA ability. This is not something that
I’ve taken lightly, (it’s) something that I’ve
been training at, something that I’ve loved for a long time.”
It’s
that knowing that MMA is more than a guy knocking heads off,
knowing that the game has moved on from Gracie’s grappling
dominance. It’s the chess-like strategy of the sport and
wanting to expose what appeals so much to him to the rest of
the world that drives Walker to compete.
He
wants people to see what he sees, that this is not a human cockfight.
“I
want people to know that it’s not this terrible, terrible
sport, that these guys are these brutes. These guys are very
intelligent,” said Walker. “I think people think this
sport is brutal because of the blood, but I think it’s safer
than football or boxing right now.”
He’s
an active promoter, not someone to sit on the sidelines and prophesize.
That’s a large part of his decision to get in the cage and
fight for Strikeforce on Jan. 30 in Florida. And Walker’s
not afraid to use his star power to further his cause.
“It’s
gonna make people become aware, gonna make people start watching
it just to see what I’m gonna do. That’s the reason
why I gotta do it the right way,” he said. “That’s
the reason why I gotta be a fighter. I can’t be a Jose Canseco.
I gotta be a true MMA fighter. I can’t go into the ring
as a gimmick, as a circus.
“I
want to show people that this is a great sport. I think it should
be an Olympic sport.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
DIEGO
SANCHEZ CONTEMPLATING RETURN TO 170?
Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez has heavy things weighing
on his mind.
Heavy
in the sense of what weight class he will next compete in. The
New Mexico native on Sunday night left a somewhat cryptic message
via his Facebook page stating "going back up to 170."
When
contacted by MMAWeekly.com, Jeff Clark, Sanchez's manager, indicated
that there has been no official decision made at this time about
what weight class he will compete in next.
Before
dropping to 155 pounds for his last three fights, Sanchez had
a very successful career at welterweight, earning a mark of 7-2
overall with his only losses coming at the hands of top five
fighters Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck.
Following
a win over Luigi Fioravanti in June 2008, Sanchez officially
made the move to the lightweight division where he picked up
wins over Joe Stevenson and Clay Guida. The former Greg Jackson
disciple suffered his first loss at 155 pounds last month when
he was stopped by current lightweight champion B.J. Penn in a
title bout at UFC 107.
While
no decision has been made, it's no secret that Sanchez was definitely
a big lightweight fighter, thus making weight became a tougher
prospect just based on size alone.
Stay
tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more on this story as it develops.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Exclusive:
Arona in talks with the UFC
Considered
one of the best light heavyweight fighters in the MMA for many
years, Ricardo Arona is recovering from a knee injury, suffered
in his last fight against Marvin Eastman. “I’m doing
physical therapy, taking care of my knee. I hope I’ll be
fully recovered by June and I’ll be back to fights in September
or October”, Arona said. “The recovery is really well”.
But
if you think Ricardo is only taking care of the injury you’re
wrong. Focused on a great return, the former Pride fighter is
negotiating to make the return in an international event, and
it’ll probably be in the UFC. “I stopped (the negotiations)
because of the injury, but some things happened, some managers
called me with some projects I’ll release soon, but I’m
sure I’ll be back in an international event”.
Asked
is this return would be in the UFC, Arona confirmed. “I
can’t talk about this project right now, but there’s
a connection between me and the UFC now, something concrete that
I didn’t have before. My return will be in the end of the
year and will be in the UFC”, Arona revealed, exclusively
to TATAME.com. “I’ll be worried about my performance,
my knee and my body. I wanna do my best in every fight. I’m
used to big competition like the UFC, I wanna be ready”.
Source: Tatame
|
“Faber
will be knocked out by José Aldo”
The
quote above is from Wagnney Fabiano, José Aldo’s
team partner. Nova União’s black belt, Wagnney is
very confident to the next fight of Aldo on WEC, that Will be
against Urijah Faber. “I think Faber is dangerous than (Mike)
Brown, but I think that he will be knocked out (laugh). If it
isn’t on the beginning it’s gonna be forward…
If Brown last two rounds, he will last three. The end is the
same, it’s gonna be knocked out”, bets.
Analyzing
the bout, Wagnney point the way to Aldo. “With no doubts
he’s a dangerous guy, it has to respect before the fight,
but inside he has to break him, and that’s what Junior (José
Aldo) will do. You have to open your eyes with him sometimes
because he’s dangerous”, said. Besides the fight between
Faber and Aldo doesn’t have an official date, Wagnney revealed
that the combat must happen in April, and that he wants to be
in action on the same card.
Source: Tatame
|
Rogério
Nogueira
After
the impressive UFC debut, knocking the tough Luis “Banha”
Cane in the first round, the Bahia native Rogério “Minotouro”
Nogueira had to cancel the planned bout against Brandon Vera
due to a foot injury, but the recovery is fine and the light
heavyweight fighter is waiting for the definition to his next
bout. In exclusive interview to TATAME.com, he spoke about the
plans to the future, a possible fight against Lyoto Machida,
the title fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, and
his brother’s next opponent, Cain Velasquez.
You
have suffered an injury on your foot and had to cancel your second
fight on UFC. How’s your recovering?
I’m
doing physiotherapy, treating myself, my foot is pretty much
better, I’m back to train last week, I’m feeling much
more secure. After to debut on UFC my fight with Brandon Vera
was scheduled and the foot had no time to rest and I had an injury
and was running, I had no time to recover. Now I started to train,
I’m not running anymore, I’m focusing more on the muscle
part, but I’m back to trainings and next month I’ll
be scheduling fight.
Do
you have idea of when will you be back to the octagon?
This
week I’ll be in touch to know how it’s gonna be with
Ultimate guys. I’m anxious to do my second fight on the
event. If it’s God’s willing I’ll be back in the
end of March or April. I have no idea of who I must face, even
because there are a lot of people hurt.
After
beating Luis Cane, who’s considered top 10 of category,
UFC offered you the fight against Brandon Vera, who came from
defeat to Randy Couture. Did you like the choice or did you prefer
a better ranked athlete?
Actually,
I think each fight is different and Brandon Vera is a guy who
disputed the title and has a powerful name on United States,
made very good fights, knocked Frank Mir out and made good fights
with good knock outs, it’s a guy with a good technical level.
I saw him training personally on his gym, so definitely it would
be a good fight to me for advertisement and name.
At
the moment Lyoto has the belt, do you believe that if you have
two victories would you have chances to fight for the belt this
year?
I
have no rush, I still have a lot of fights to make. It depends
a lot of Ultimate, because we don’t ask them fights, they
do the matches.
How
is the training with Anderson Silva?
Anderson
is training well, he’s strong, He always surprise, because
he’s very fast, he’s very well, starting to train now,
He has all the time to train now, and about the injury is overcame.
You’ve
trained with Vitor Belfort on BTT and now you’re training
with Anderson and they will face each other in Abu Dhabi. What
do you expect of this fight?
That’s
a complicated question. I think it’s gonna be a good fight,
because they’re both experts, you definitely be a big fight.
Your
brother is in San Diego training. Do you intend to meet him on
USA to follow the training on this final lap?
I
will, I’ll go on the beginning of February to do the sparring
with him. When I left there he was okay, on a powerful rhythm,
practicing a lot of Wrestling with people from Marco Muñoz,
a very good people, is training on the ground with Allan Góes...
Rodrigo is very focused and the physical part is very good, strong,
with a good explosion, he’s up with the diet, he’s
on the same weight of the fight against Randy, he’s moving
better. I believe a lot in Rodrigo, he’s more experient
and he will win with that.
Do
the team already had a strategy for his fight against Cain Velasquez?
I
think Rodrigo can take this fight standing up easily, he’s
more experient, more tough, He trains for more time, makes this
fights out of his country for more than ten years, he’s
more tough, and if it goes to boxing, I’m sure that Rodrigo
takes. I think Cain Velasquez Will try to put ir down, because
Rodrigo has a better hand.
Source: Tatame
|
RICARDO
FUNCH VS MATT RIDDLE ADDED TO UFC 111
A welterweight bout between Team Link fighter Ricardo Funch and
"Ultimate Fighter" season 7 competitor Matt Riddle
has been added to the undercard of the upcoming UFC 111 show
in Newark, N.J.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Saturday by sources close
to the fight that said bout agreements have been issued for the
March contest.
Riddle
(3-1) made a quick impact to get into the house for The Ultimate
Fighter when he viciously knocked out Dan Simmler, breaking the
fighter's jaw in the process. After exiting the show, Riddle
picked up three wins in a row before losing for the first time
in his last fight to Nick Osipczak in England in November 2009.
His
opponent, Ricardo Funch, also enjoyed an undefeated record for
the better part of his career, starting out with seven wins in
a row before making his UFC debut in December.
Funch
(7-1) was matched up with former WEC welterweight Johny Hendricks,
and while the Massachusetts based fighter definitely held his
own, he dropped a unanimous three-round decision to the powerful
wrestler.
The
welterweight bout is the latest match-up announced for the star-studded
card, which will feature two title bouts and several pivotal
170-pound fights as well.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WC
FITNESS: YOUR WORKOUTS NEED THIS (PART 1)
Yesterday I spent probably two hours on the phone talking training
with a good friend of mine. We talk training and business probably
2 to 3 times per week, and I can't tell you how many awesome
conversations we've had.
Yesterday,
though, in the process of our conversation, while we talked,
I came to a MAJOR realization...one of those "A HA!!"
moments.
This
was stuff I already knew – and you probably do, too –
but when we just flat out talked about it, it just crystalized
and became so clear that I couldn't help but want to kick myself
in the ass for not addressing this sooner.
What
we talked about were the two main, critical factors that your
workouts need to ensure success.
Factor
#1 - COMMITMENT
This
seems like what should be such a simple... almost "DUH!"...
idea, but it has to be said. If you're not committed to your
program (be it your workouts, your skills work, your diet, your
training camp, etc.), then you're just simply not going to get
results. And even if you do, they're going to be half-ass results.
Listen...
here's a BIG SECRET that most folks people in the fitness industry
don't want you to know... in fact, they're BANKING on the fact
that you either don't know this, or better yet, don't apply it.
Yes,
it's true, many workouts out there suck. This is especially true
of the workouts you see in many bodybuilding and fitness magazines.
But you know what? A good majority of the population would STILL
get above average (if not really good) results on these so-called
lousy programs if they just put the damn work in.
How
many times have you see somebody go on what you thought was a
lousy program, but still got bigger, stronger, faster, etc? I
see different pro fighters' workouts discussed incessantly, and
I can't tell you how many times these keyboard warriors and armchair
quarterbacks like to talk smack about how these fighters could
be "really good" if they'd just go on a good workout.
I've
seen Tito Ortiz criticized in the past for doing a stupidly simple
roadwork program of just running three miles, and trying to do
it faster each time he ran it. I've seen Matt Hughes and Sean
Sherk both slammed for doing body-part split (a la bodybuilding)
workout programs... even though they've generally both been stronger
and faster than many (if not most) of their opponents. I've seen
Randy Couture criticized by "form Nazis" while doing
his complex training, because his exercise execution supposedly
wasn’t "up to snuff."
Well
news flash folks – know what all these guys have in common?
They've ALL got great records, are former champs, and have spent
more time at the top of the sport then they have at the bottom
of it.
Now
is all that success directly attributed to just their workout
programs? Of course not. But all of these guys are known for
being strong, have insane cardio, being in shape, just "not
getting tired," etc. And all of these guys have used that
to help win fights.
So
how did these guys use supposedly inferior workout programs,
yet still achieve awesome results? You can give me all the "succeeding
'in spite of' their training, and not 'because' of it" crap
you want. Fact is, they worked their asses off. And believe it
or not, sometimes hard work can overcome a bad design. I'm not
saying that should be the plan, but you can't ever go wrong with
working hard.
Let's
look at an opposite example – B.J. Penn. B.J. was known
for YEARS for being the guy that just wasn't dedicated to his
training. He just wasn't motivated. He didn't come into fights
in shape. He got by on natural talent. Blah, blah, blah. (And
I've been one to blast him for it, too.)
But
look at B.J. in recent years. He's dedicated himself to his training
– especially his strength & conditioning. And for the
most part, he's been just wrecking his opponents.
See
a pattern here?
Ask
yourself this – are you getting the results you want in
your workouts? If not... ask yourself this... and be honest...
how hard are you working?
Most
people would do just fine by picking a program, sticking to it,
and just putting in the damn work. Same goes for putting in your
time on the mat, in the ring, hitting the heavy bag, etc. Same
also goes for sticking to a decent diet plan.
Next
time, we'll look at the other main factor you need for success
in your workouts.
Train Hard, Rest Hard, Play Hard.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
“Goodness
is the only investment that never fails.”
Henry David Thoreau
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
DAN
MILLER NOT AFRAID TO HIT MAT WITH MAIA
It’s tough being a Miller these days. One-half of the infamous
UFC Miller brothers, 185-pounder Dan, will be making his return
to the cage at UFC 109 on Feb. 9 in Las Vegas.
The
former IFL middleweight champion has not been able to compete
since suffering a staph infection following a loss to UFC middleweight
contender Chael Sonnen last May at UFC 98. It was his second
loss overall and first in the Octagon. Sonnen snapped a three-fight
win streak that Dan had been riding, seemingly nearing a title
shot.
Now
with a date and opponent, Miller admits that time away from the
sport may be just what the doctor ordered, but it wasn’t
what he had in mind.
“I
have never had this long of a layoff, it sucks,” he said
recently while a guest on MMAWeekly Radio.
“I
just like to stay active. I like to keep going and keep training.
I hate when I sit out for long periods of time. I’ve never
had something this long and all the other ones were just killing
me. I just like to fight. There’s no other reason why, it’s
just I love doing it.”
Miller
lost a bit more than time with his near nine-month stint away
from the cage, he lost his position as a top contender to Anderson
Silva’s coveted middleweight belt, a feat not too many are
able or willing to vie for.
“It
is kind of motivation,” he said in regards to the loss.
“I
want to get back in there and get on the winning track again.
Again, its something that it happens, I learn from and just keep
fighting.”
There
are not too many fights in the middleweight division that would
propel the 28-year-old into immediate contention, though a win
over jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia is definitely a step in the right
direction.
“It’s
a big fight for me and this is what I do the sport for, for big
fights, and I’m excited for this,” said Miller, who
is ready for his February tussle with the former contender.
Before
running into Nate Marquardt, Maia cut through the middleweight
division with wins over Nate Quarry, Ed Herman, Jason MacDonald,
Ryan Jensen, and Chael Sonnen, all by submission, four times
earning Submission of the Night honors. His obvious jiu-jitsu
prowess is something that is raved about amongst MMA circles,
even sometimes feared. Miller must have absent from those conversations.
“I
think you have to be confident in what you bring to the table,”
said the New Jersey native.
“I’m
pretty confident in my jiu-jitsu and everything that I bring
into this fight. I’m not scared to go to the ground. It’s
like everyone I talk to is like, ‘oh, don’t go to the
ground with him.’ If it happens to go to the ground, it’s
going to go to the ground. I’m not going to be afraid. I’m
confident in what I have and I think that I can hang.”
It’s
no surprise that he feels his ground game measures up. Miller
was recently awarded his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt by trainer
Jamie Cruz, a black belt under Renzo Gracie.
Using
his time wisely in preparation for Feb. 9, Miller has used his
East Coast contacts and grabbed hold of some of the sport’s
elite, including former Shooto welterweight champion Vitor Ribeiro
out of New York City, as well as some fellow New Jersey boys,
namely Frankie Edgar, who was recently dubbed the next title
challenger for B.J. Penn’s UFC lightweight title.
“Training
with those guys, Frankie and Chris (Liguori) they come up and
train with us (at team AMA), it’s just great having them
in the room,” Miller told MMAWeekly.com.
“Even
for me, I’m a lot bigger than them, just having Frankie
and those guys in the room it’s a huge opportunity to meet
someone like that who has great wrestling and great boxing. It’s
a lot of fun rolling with him too, just learning from him.”
Not
feeling the pressure to succeed following a loss, Miller is enjoying
time winding down as the fight looms closer and closer and has
made the best of what was a bad situation.
“I’m
just going to go in there and make him fight my fight,”
said the former high-school wrestling standout. “If it happens
to go to the ground, I’m going to punch, beat him up if
I’m on top. I’m going to get in there and get after
him.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
MIKE
BROWN THINKS FABER VS. ALDO "MAKES SENSE"
Mike Brown is the No. 2 ranked featherweight in the world and
a former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight titleholder.
He is coming off a recent win over Anthony Morrison after losing
the belt to current champion Jose Aldo in November.
Urijah
Faber is the No. 3 ranked featherweight in the world and also
a former WEC featherweight champion. He is coming off a win since
losing a rematch to Brown in June.
On
paper it may look like Brown should be the next one in line,
but being Aldo’s most recent victim, he gave up that slot
to Faber, who will be the one fighting Aldo for the title next.
Brown
agrees with the Californian getting the title bout before he
gets a rematch with the Brazilian phenom.
“I
think it’s time for Aldo to fight someone else,” Brown
told MMAWeekly.com. “He TKO’d me in the second round.
There’s no reason he shouldn’t give somebody else a
shot before I get back in there.
“I’ve
won one. Let somebody else get a crack at it, but if they don’t
get it then maybe I get my shot,” added the American Top
Team trained athlete. “I think it makes a lot of sense.
You can’t have me fighting him back-to-back like that for
no great reason, but I'll be back and I'll get my shot."
The
next WEC event is scheduled for March 6, in Columbus, Ohio. Mike
Brown expects to be back in action on the following card.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Morango
confirms fight with Pellegrino at UFC 111
Fabrício
“Morango” Camões confirmed he will in fact be
facing Kurt Pellegrino to GRACIEMAG.com. After drawing with Caol
Uno in his UFC debut, in November of 2009, Morango relied on
special help to not let victory slip through his fingers his
next time around. On holiday in Rio de Janeiro, he took no rest
and brushed up on his muay thai with Anderson Silva.
The
fight with Pellegrino is set to take place March 27 at UFC 111
in New Jersey. Check out the interview with our GMA below, in
which he addresses his adversary and, between the lines, he is
yet another to confirm Anderson Silva’s April matchup.
Is
your next opponent really Kurt Pellegrino?
That’s
right. I just spoke with my manager and it’s all set. I’ll
be back at UFC 111.
What
do you think of this opponent?
What
I tell everyone is that the best in the world are in the UFC.
I went their to test myself against the best and again they gave
me a big-name opponent. Kurt Pellegrino has had a lot of fights.
But I don’t think there’s any mystery to him. I’m
really well trained and I’m getting better in all aspects
of fighting with every day, not just in Jiu-Jitsu, my mainstay.
Speaking
of Jiu-Jitsu, Kurt is good on the ground. He’s gotten the
finish in nine of his 14 wins. Will the fight play out on the
ground?
I
know he’s a grappler, that’s his strength. But, as
I’m a Royler Gracie black belt, I think it would be really
tough for him to surprise me on the ground. I have faith in my
Jiu-Jitsu, I’m aware that’s the strong point in my
game. But in there you have to look to define the fight and be
ready to fight wherever the opponent is. For sure his having
a lot of submissions indicates that we’ll likely work on
the ground. It comes from the fighters’ tactics. Everyone
wants the fight to go where they feel most comfortable. But I
work at feeling comfortable everywhere.
What’s
your analysis of the draw in your UFC debut against Caol Uno?
It
wasn’t the result I expected. I returned home with a draw
and I hope to take the win this time around. I threw an upkick
that wasn’t allowed and I think the ref went a bit overboard.
I’ve seen others do the same thing and they only had a warning.
This time I’ll do whatever it takes to win, be it by submission
or by knockout.
You
spoke of getting the knockout. How is your standup game coming
along?
I’ve
been working on improving my standup. I’ve trained with
Anderson Silva and the game at XGYM and we’ll work together
when I get back to the States, too. I’m sharpening up my
skills to fight everywhere. The thing is to improve and be a
more complete athlete every time you get in there.
Are
you still working with Royler?
I
came back for the end-of-the-year holidays and to enjoy my family.
This Sunday I’ll return to the United States, where I’ll
carry on with training in San Diego. Royler should arrive at
the end of January to work with us. As Anderson fights in April,
I believe he’ll go the United States and we’ll intensify
our training.
Ultimate
111 – At the same event the welterweight and heavyweight
belts will be up for grabs (the heavyweight one being an interim
belt) between Georges St. Pierre and Dan Hardy and Frank Mir
versus Shane Carwin, respectively.
Check
out the likely card:
UFC111
New Jersey, USA
March 27, 2010
Georges
St. Pierre vs Dan Hardy
Shane Carwin vs Frank Mir
Thiago Alves vs Jon Fitch
Ricardo Almeida vs Matt Brown
Martin Kampmann vs Ben Saunders
Mark Bocek vs Jim Miller
Fabricio Camoes vs Kurt Pellegrino
Jared Hamman vs Rodney Wallace
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Sérgio
Moraes wants to win everything
World
champion of Jiu-Jitsu, Sérgio Moraes is focused to start
2010 the best way as possible. Closing 2009 with golden key,
winning the WLPJJ World’s, the Alliance’s black belt
comes to the new year without injuries and hunger for fight,
on the mats or MMA rings.
“My
great aim this year is to win everything I fight, to be well
trained, to be always focused on winning, but one for once. I
know there are a lot of tough guys and I know I have to be each
time more prepared”, said Serginho, telling the lessons
he learned in 2009, when he suffered his first defeat on MMA.
“I’m
training to make everything that I can better. I had that setback
on the last fight, I lost, unfortunately. It was my mistake,
I shouldn’t have accepted that fight, one over another.
My body felt tired, but on defeats I learn more”, guarantees
the fighter, who made his fights in less than a month, finishing
the first, but being knocked out on the second.
Without
knowing which event will he fights MMA, Moraes tells his plans
on soft art. “I had a great end of year, my body rested
and I want to train again. I’ll fight in some MMA event
and get prepared to Brazilian, Pan American, World’s…
I won’t go to the European, but I’ll compete in all
the others”, finished the Alliance’s athlete talking
to TATAME.
Source: Tatame
|
Michael
Langhi: "Celsinho will be welcome"
Michael
Langhi was perfect in 2009. The fighter won all the championships
that he fought and in 2010 he wants to repeat it, but he knows
that to stay on top is harder than to come there. Langhi wants
to start the year with golden key and for that he’s training
hard to the European, that happens in Lisbon, Portugal, between
January 28 and 31.
“I’ll
fight the European and the preparation is the same of last year.
Of course we always try to change something to be better, I’m
training Jiu-Jitsu the whole day on Alliance here in São
Paulo… I want to fight the most championships that I can
and always get in to win”, said the lightweight, who knows
that he will pass by though moments to repeat 2009.
“I’ll
start everything from the beginning and if I win this European
I’ll vibrate, because it’s always a different emotion,
whatever the past is. That’s what motivates me to train,
I love the championships, I like to feel the adrenalin of competition.
That’s what will help me to stay on top”, analyzed
him, who will probably face Celsinho Venícius, who stayed
away from competitions because of a surgery on the knee.
Langhi
lost two times to Celsinho on his first year of black belt for
tight scores, and this year he must be the main opponent. “Celsinho
Vinicius is coming with all, he Will be welcome on the category.
I won’t win, who wins is the crowd, the sport. He already
won a lot of World’s and I won’t keep saying things,
he proved that he’s a great athlete and I hope our fight
happens this year”, finished Michael.
Source: Tatame
|
UFC’s
partial sale will shape MMA landscape
The
growth the Ultimate Fighting Championship made in the past nine
years was mind boggling, as it went from a marginalized sport
on the verge of collapse to a company that was estimated to be
worth in excess of $1 billion.
That
growth, though, could seem miniscule 10 years from now when analyses
are made of the company’s second decade of the 21st century.
The
sale of 10 percent of the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa LLC,
to Flash Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of the government
of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, will permit the UFC to do things
unimaginable even five years ago.
Abu
Dhabi controls the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund,
which UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta estimated at between
$800 billion and $1 trillion. That’s a partner with a lot
of influence.
The
move will make it significantly easier for the UFC to make headway
in countries like China and India, where it has been desperate
to grab a foothold but had been doing little more than spinning
its wheels. The UFC has television programming in China, but
it is on regional networks. Fertitta expects Flash to be able
to help UFC quickly make inroads on the more influential national
networks like CCTV.
“It’s
really dealing at a different level,” Fertitta said. “We
go in and we can do a television deal on kind of a regional set
of networks, but Flash, which is owned by the government of Abu
Dhabi, has a long-standing relationship with the government of
China, a long-standing relationship with the governments of India,
Korea and all these different countries.
“It’s
hard to give specifics, but it’s at a different level. If
they want to go in and have a meeting with CCTV, they’re
going to get the meeting with the right guy at the right time
vs. me going over there and trying to meet with a major broadcaster
in China. It’s two completely different meetings.”
The
result of Flash’s influence with those entities will be
something tangible for fight fans. The sport will expand dramatically
and that will lead to significantly better athletes opting to
become mixed martial artists.
Eventually,
that will lead to a significant increase in the talent of skill
of the fighters.
“It’s
going to be a huge positive for us [in terms of developing talent],”
Fertitta said. “We see what’s happened in the [United
Kingdom]. When we first started going over there [in 2002], there
were a few U.K. fighters, but the fighters in the early stages
didn’t seem to have the updated technology from a ground
game standpoint and an overall skill standpoint.
“Compare
where we were then in terms of U.K. talent to today, where the
guys they have over there coming up are very well-rounded. MMA
has exploded in the U.K., and I think you’ll see the same
thing in places like China and the Middle East, where you will
have talent eventually begin to emerge. That will drive the business
in those regions.”
The
UFC is expected to hold its first live event in Abu Dhabi on
April 10. Fertitta said that because of the short plane trip
to Abu Dhabi from Eastern Europe and some parts of Asia, the
fan base at that show will be more diverse than any previous
UFC card.
One
of the formulas the UFC has relied upon in North America is bringing
a live card to a particular area and having that serve as an
impetus for growth in interest in the sport. It worked exceptionally
well in Montreal, which is now one of the company’s prime
markets.
Fertitta
expects that same thing to occur once the live event, probably
UFC 112, will be held in Abu Dhabi. He eventually expects it
to expand to the other states in the United Arab Emirates as
well as possibly to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, among others.
“[Abu
Dhabi] is so close to places like India and parts of Eastern
Europe that it’s literally just a couple of hours in an
airplane,” Fertitta said. “That’s why Dubai has
really taken off from a vacation standpoint. I think we’ll
draw people from all over the region who have never had a chance
to experience a UFC live event before.”
A
vision of what may be to come for the UFC is Flash’s investment
in Ferrari. Flash bought five percent of Ferrari in 2005. Now,
there is a Formula 1 race in the United Arab Emirates and Ferrari
World, the world’s largest indoor theme park, is slated
to open sometime this year.
The
government of Abu Dhabi is one of the most sought-after capital
sources in the world. It has invested in major companies like
Ferrari, computer chip manufacturer AMD and General Electric.
Now
the UFC has been added to that list and Fertitta is convinced
this is going to accelerate the UFC’s 10-year plan exponentially.
“To
think we’re in that kind of category [with those other companies
they’ve invested in], it’s pretty amazing,” he
said. “These guys are making investments all around the
world at a massive scale. It puts us in a completely different
category being associated with that group.”
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Quote
of the Day
"Your
success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy,
and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties."
Helen Keller
|
X1
World Events presents:
The Showdown in Waipahu
Results!
X1 World Events
“Showdown in Waipahu”
Waipahu High School Gym, Waipahu, Hawaii
Main Card - Pro Boxing
170
lbs. - Ronald Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Cisneros (AP
Boxing)
Cisneros by TKO
135 lbs. - Isaac Arasato (Palolo Boxing) vs. Daniel Schlienz
(Minnesota)
Arasato by TKO
147 lbs. - Mike Balasi (Kawano Boxing) vs. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
Balasi by TKO
155 lbs. - Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Yancey Cuellar
(Minnesota)
Sarmiento by decision
147 lbs. - Justin Mercado (Team MMAD) vs. Brandon Pieper (808
Fight Factory)
Mercado by TKO
147 lbs. - Ian Dela Cuesta (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Willems
(AP Boxing)
Willems by decision
Undercard
- Mixed Bouts
170
lbs. - MMA - Luis Santiago (Freelance) vs. Dirty Curty (Team
Submit)
Curty by head and arm choke at 1:05 in round 1. Santiago has
only one arm and no one wanted to take a fight against him. Curty
stepped up to give Santiago an opportunity to complete in MMA.
170 lbs. - MMA - Palema Amone (Average Joes) vs. Tommy Lawhorn
(Team Submit)
Amone by TKO (Lawhorn just gave up) at 2:17 in round 1
145 lbs. - MMA - Petey Vital (Demon MMA) vs. Shawn Burroughs
(Univ. Combat)
Burroughs by leg keylock at 2:17 in round 1.
150 lbs. - MMA - Lani Fauhiva (Avg Joes) vs. Jessica Tauala (Team
Submit)
Fauhiva by guillotine by 55 sec in round 1.
165 lbs. - MMA - Matthew Myers(South MMA) vs Jairus Munoz (AP
Boxing)
Munoz by unanimous decision
135 lbs. - KB - Chris Mattos (UFS) vs. Travis Costa (Hakuilua)
Costa by unanimous decision
165 lbs. - KB - Tyrone O'Neil vs. Gaylord Balasi (Kawano KB)
Balasi by TKO ref stop at 0:56 sec in round 3.
135 lbs. - KB - Ola Lum (O2MA) vs. Carlos Lave (Hakuilua)
Lum by majority decision
115 lbs. - KB - Marina Chong(UFS) vs Sally Tolentino(Freelance)
Chong by KO at 1:05 in round 2.
130 lbs. - KB - Maka Benedicto (PFC) vs. Ioane Kim (Hakuilua)
Exhibition
100 lbs. - Pan - Sonja Soon (Avg Joes) vs. Sivada Koulthasen(Team
Submit)
Soon by guillotine at 1:44 in round 1.
155 lbs. - TT - Royal Kaua (O2MAA) vs. John Giron (Hakuilua)
Kaua by decision
85 lbs. - EX - Alika Augustin (Hakuilua) vs. Charles Naone (Hakuilua)
Exhibition
|
FABER
WOULD LIKE MID-MAY SHOWDOWN WITH ALDO
It's likely to be the fight that headlines the first ever WEC
pay-per-view, and even though former champion Urijah Faber is
only days removed from his latest win, he's already breaking
down his next opponent, featherweight champion Jose Aldo.
Watching
a DVD of all of Aldo's 18 fights, Faber believes that he can
find a weakness in the game of a fighter who has looked nearly
unbeatable in all of his fights in the WEC. The "California
Kid" is confident he'll have the kryptonite to Aldo's Superman.
"It's
going to be a close fight, but the advantage point for me is
first off the speed neutralizing him, and second having an advantage
in the grappling, and understanding what his weapons are,"
Faber explained when appearing on MMAWeekly Radio last week.
"His knees and kicks are going to be one thing, and his
hands, but being aware of it is going to make it easier for me."
The
champion sounded confident when he entered the cage following
Faber's win in his hometown of Sacramento, Calif., last weekend,
letting everyone know that he didn't plan on giving up the title
anytime soon.
"Aldo's
got the champion's mentality. I really think he believes no one's
going to take his belt," Faber commented.
Urijah
Faber tends to differ with Aldo on who is going to end up with
the belt.
"I
believe that is my belt, and that I am going to take it, and
that's what great fights are," he said. "It's just
basically two guys that are top dogs, two guys who are alpha
males, and dedicated to their art, and looking forward to a fight."
The
timing for the Faber vs. Aldo fight is still up in the air, but
most believe it will be the headlining bout when the WEC debuts
on pay-per-view in 2010. The former champion has a perfect timetable
of his own, but leaves it up to the WEC to decide when he gets
to compete again.
"I
would say mid-May would probably be ideal for me," Faber
commented. "Mid-May, maybe late April, that's kind of close,
but I feel great. I don't really take time off. I'm ready to
fight, I'm ready to get this belt, to continue to build my name,
and blow up MMA and the light weight classes and the WEC."
The
fight will quite possibly be the biggest in the WEC's history,
and a guaranteed fan favorite when the two featherweights mix
it up later this year.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Wand
gets ready for Bisping: “This is my business, my hobby”
Wand in a controversial match with Franklin which the crowd felt
the Brazilian won. Photo by Josh Hedges
Wand
in a controversial match with Franklin which the crowd felt the
Brazilian won. Photo by Josh Hedges
If
on one hand Wanderlei Silva no longer works alongside physical
conditioning coach Rafael Alejarra, , as reported first hand
by GRACIEMAG.com, training with coach Rafael Cordeiro is going
full steam. The trainer was the one to prepare Wand during the
greatest phase of his career, in the days of Pride.
“Some guys have good technique, but not a good trainer.
He’s a fighter and a great trainer. He understands my style
and gets me in good shape for all my fights,” he told MMAWeekly.com
in praise.
Now
Wanderlei and Cordeiro, back together again since the decision
loss to Rich Franklin at UFC 99, are getting ready for Michael
Bisping, at the UFC 110 event marking the organization’s
maiden venture into Australia, on February 20.
“Bisping
is a good opponent and isn’t afraid to fight on his feet.
I feel we will have a great fight.”
Wanderlei
is fighting without concern for a title or anything of the kind.
If a title shot turns up down the road, that is fine. However,
the main focus is to put on a show.
“I
like to provide my fans around the world with excitement and
that’s why I fight. I don’t know if I’ll fight
for a title some day but, for now, I just want to make the most
of my work. This is my business and my hobby,” he said in
finishing.
The
event in Australia also features the fight between Rodrigo Minotauro
and Cain Velasquez and Mirko Cro Cop versus Ben Rothwell, among
others.
Check
out the card as it stands –
UFC
110
Sydney, Australia
February 20, 2010
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira vs Cain Velasquez
Michael Bisping vs Wanderlei Silva
George Sotiropoulos vs Joe Stevenson
Ryan Bader vs Keith Jardine
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs Ben Rothwell
Lutas
preliminares
Chris
Haseman vs Elvis Sinosic
Stephan Bonnar vs Krzysztof Soszynski
Brian Foster vs Chris Lytle
C.B. Dollaway vs Goran Reljic
James Te Huna vs Igor Pokrajac
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Cigano
on facing Gabriel Gonzaga
With
four wins in the UFC, all by knockout, Junior “Cigano”
dos Santos has a special place among the organization’s
heavyweights. Coming off his win over Gilbert Yvel on January
2, the fighter already has his next bout scheduled. On March
21 Cigano will face Jiu-Jitsu black belt Gabriel Gonzaga at UFC
on Versus 1. The hard hitter from Minotauro Team spoke with GRACIEMAG.com
and spoke of what he expects from this next challenge.
You
will practically not have any rest after your last victory. Do
you feel that will hinder you?
I’m
happy to have this next opportunity. It’s a good fight for
me. Napão is a tough and dangerous guy, but I’m in
rhythm and I believe it will be enough time to prepare myself.
I’m happy about the UFC’s decision.
You
were supposed to have faced Napão in your last matchup,
but he had a health problem and gave up his place to Gilbert
Yvel. Does the fact you’ve studied and trained for him help?
I
think so. As you said, I was already studying him and my training
was totally geared to facing him. I’ll take that up again
and focus on his way of fighting again to set up my strategy.
Your
success in the UFC, up until now, has come by way of striking
and your only loss in 11 fights came on the ground. Have you
applied yourself to Jiu-Jitsu, which may be Gonzaga’s main
weapon this fight?
I’ve
done a lot of ground fighting, very frequently. Also, I train
Jiu-Jitsu every day, just as I train boxing. Before the fight
with Yvel, for example, Demian Maia dropped by Bahia and I trained
with him. In Rio Feijão helps me out a lot. I have the
help of a lot of first-rate black belts. I think I’m up
to date on the ground and I may even surprise people there.
Minotauro
by submission,” Junior Cigano
Your
teammate who is also in your division in the UFC Rodrigo Minotauro
faces Cain Velasquez on February 20. What is your assessment
of Velasquez for this fight?
Cain
is a great fighter, has a lot of gas and really good wrestling.
He’s from the top team in the United States. I believe his
strategy will be to fight for three rounds. He will surely get
the takedown, but the fight ends with Minotauro by submission.
Velasquez is good, but Rodrigo’s technique on the ground
and striking is well superior. Therefore, I think his way out
will be to get the takedown and try to drag things out on the
ground.
Check
out the card:
UFC
on Versus 1
March 21, 2010
Jon
Jones vs Brandon Vera
Junior Dos Santos vs Gabriel Gonzaga
John Howard vs Anthony Johnson
Clay Guida vs Sean Sherk
Spencer Fisher vs Duane “Bang” Ludwig
Eliot Marshall vs Vladimir Matyushenko
Chase Gormley vs Brendan Schaub
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
‘Minotouro’
wants to be back in Apriles
After
the impressive UFC debut, knocking the tough Luis “Banha”
Cane in the first round, the Bahia native Rogério “Minotouro”
Nogueira had to cancel the planned bout against Brandon Vera
due to a foot injury, but the recovery is fine and the light
heavyweight fighter is waiting for the definition to his next
bout. In exclusive interview to TATAME.com, he spoke about the
plans to the future, a possible fight against Lyoto Machida,
the title fight between Anderson Silva and Vitor Belfort, and
his brother’s next opponent, Cain Velasquez. Stay tuned
to read the exclusive interview today at TATAME.com.
Source: Tatame
|
Bellator
FC signs featherweight phenom
CHICAGO,
Ill. (January 13, 2010) – Bellator Fighting Championships’
search for its next great featherweight has moved south to Brazil,
where it was announced today that undefeated MMA phenom Patricio
Pitbull has signed a long-term promotional agreement and will
compete in Bellator’s Season 2 tournament.
The
23-year-old Pitbull is a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and
is known throughout his home country for his devastating striking
ability. He boasts a perfect 12-0 record with all but two of
his fights finishing via KO, TKO or submission. Six of these
10 early finishes occurred in Round 1.
“In
Bellator Season 1, Joe Soto came from nowhere to win our featherweight
tournament and a six-figure check in just 90 days” said
Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney. “I believe Patricio
Pitbull has the chance to do the same thing in Season 2. While
he may be undiscovered by most U.S. fans, I can tell you that
he is the real deal. I encourage you to go to YouTube and check
him out for yourself.”
Pitbull
is the third fighter to join Bellator’s upcoming eight-man
145 lbs. tournament along with 12-1-1 Russian-born Georgi “Insane”
Karakhanyan and 5-0 Canadian fighting prodigy William Romero.
Bellator will also conduct tournaments at 155, 170 and 185 lbs.
with the winners of this year’s tournaments being declared
No. 1 contenders to Bellator’s current roster of champions.
“I
have been waiting for the opportunity to make my international
debut for a long time,” Pitbull, who speaks Portuguese,
said through a translator. “Bellator has some outstanding
featherweight fighters – particularly Joe Soto – and
I am excited to have my chance to show America and the world
what I can do in the cage.”
Pitbull
got his start in fighting sports at the age of 12 when he took
up Jiu-Jitsu and, several years later, began training at Brazil’s
famed Chute Boxe Academy, which has, over the years, produced
such fighters as Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Wanderlei Silva
and reigning Strikeforce women’s featherweight champion
Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos.
Pitbull
took his first professional MMA fight in 2004 while he was still
a teenager and has been dominant in nearly every fight since,
according to his manager, Ivan Canello.
“This
guy really is like a pitbull—very small, but very, very
powerful,” Canello said. “From the bottom of my heart,
I truly believe that he can win the Bellator tournament. He’s
been waiting for his big chance for a long time and now he’s
ready to go.”
Pitbull
is also excited for the exposure offered by Bellator’s historic
TV distribution alliance, which Canello called “something
that no other organization in the U.S. can provide.”
Each
of Bellator’s 24 fights during Seasons 2 and 3 will be distributed
live in primetime on Thursday nights on FOX Sports Net and its
regional sports network affiliates. The top moments from each
week’s live events will then be condensed into an action-packed
30-minute highlight show, broadcast every Saturday night, late
night, on NBC. A one-hour highlight show will air in Spanish
on Telemundo every Saturday night from midnight to 1 a.m.
“Here
in Brazil, it’s every fighter’s dream to come to the
mecca for MMA — the United States,” Canello said. “I
know that Pitbull is going to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
Source: Tatame
|
BOB
SHAMROCK, FATHER TO KEN & FRANK PASSES AWAY
Bob Shamrock, the father of legendary MMA fighters Ken Shamrock
and younger brother Frank Shamrock passed away today Thursday,
Jan. 14 at 2pm at the home of his eldest son Ken – surrounded
by friends and family. Ken Shamrock and his wife Tonya brought
Bob to their home on Saturday after a long term battle with different
health complications due to Diabetes - Bob was 68 years old.
Bob
is best known for opening up his home in Susanville, CA to literally
hundreds of defiant and hardcore kids. Ken Shamrock (then Ken
Wayne Nance) was 13 years old when he arrived at the Shamrock
Boys Home in Susanville, CA - Ken at the time was in trouble
with the law for strong armed robbery among other things. At
the time Ken didn't realize that his life was about to change
forever.
"I
just watched Ken's eyes when he first arrived, because this was
my home. It wasn't some business place where I came on from 8
til 5 - it was my home, and the house was really big, we ate
well, we had a swimming pool, and all those kinds of things.
It was a lot different than the other group homes he had been
in." Bob Shamrock
Bob
promoted sports in the community - “We'd have the football
team and their cheerleaders out at the ranch when the season
was over, and the same with the wrestling, baseball and basketball
teams. We tried to get them all interested in outside activities,
and the biggest one was sports. That's what we did with Ken because
he came to me as a fighter. We got him involved in football and
wrestling and if the kids made the team for their class, we'd
get them a gym membership in town. We did lots of activities
to try and keep the kids busy and to provide outlets. That's
the problem with a lot of kids these days: They don't have the
outlets to get their energy out and their aggression down."
Bob Shamrock
One
of Ken’s fondest memories of growing up at the Shamrock
Home was the way his dad had the kids settle their disputes.
If the kids got mad with each other, Bob would let them put on
gloves and box in the backyard to sort things out. The only rule
imposed for these matches was that Bob had to be there at the
time.
"Ken
winded up being the house champion in boxing and wrestling. He
had a way about him that just drew me to him: his own way of
looking at things that was upright and honest. It wasn't always
kosher or exactly right, but that's the way he thought and basically
it was fair. Sometimes you had to show him there was another
side to the story, but he always tried to do the right thing.
By no means was he perfect, but we'd sit down and I could reason
with him."
When
Ken turned 18 in February, 1982, Bob legally adopted him and
Ken changed his last name to Shamrock. Later, Ken's younger brother
Frank also changed his surname to Shamrock out of respect for
the man who had done so much to help him.
“It
is an incredible feeling, knowing that two boys I have done so
much for, have gone on to be world champions in Mixed Martial
Arts." Bob Shamrock
Just
yesterday I sat across from Ken and listened as he began to look
back and think about his dad, “My dad had an unbelievable
light with these kids – I’ve never seen anybody able
to take a defiant kid into their home, and handle them like my
father could - willing to get into a fight with them if he had
to because of disrespect and then turn around and hug them and
let them know, the minute you give me respect – I’ll
give you respect. Everyone that came in contact with my dad –
you could tell he made a difference in their life. I’ve
never seen anyone have that much success with kids. I know he's
with the Lord, but I’ll miss him and I’m forever thankful.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
STRIKEFORCE'S
AFROMOWITZ LOOKS BACK ON 2009
Looking back at 2009, it was a banner year for the Strikeforce
promotion.
Deals
with Showtime and CBS allowed for wider exposure and exponential
growth for the company, while a deal with EA Sports will allow
Strikeforce to enter the extremely popular world of video games
in 2010.
Combine
its business deals with talent acquisitions such as Fedor Emelianenko,
memorable in-cage performances by long standing promotional talent
like Gilbert Melendez, and a rising crop of talent coming from
the company’s Challenger Series and things couldn’t
be looking brighter.
Strikeforce
Director of Communications Mike Afromowitz recently spoke to
MMAWeekly.com to look back over the year that was and the year
to come for his promotion.
“I
think (2009) was a banner year,” said Afromowitz. “I
think we accomplished a lot of things. Getting the opportunity
to partner with Showtime and CBS was a tremendous step.
“We
really are appreciative of all the support they’ve given
us in this relationship, and I think we’ve got a lot of
great things in store for 2010.”
While
some may think that Strikeforce easily slid into the Showtime
and CBS slots opened by the shuttering of EliteXC and Strikeforce’s
acquisition of ProElite’s roster, Afromowitz says the transition
was not so cut and dry.
“We
definitely had to prove ourselves,” he admitted. “We
are fortunate that they took a chance for us and it was a great
night that night, but we had to show and prove. I think signing
Fedor and the deal with M-1 Global really set us up for a big
fight on CBS.”
Not
only is Afromowitz proud of what Strikeforce was able to do for
its broadcast future, but he is also equally excited about the
talent the promotion was able to acquire.
“Towards
the end of the year we signed several stars, most notably Dan
Henderson, which is a great acquisition for us,” he stated.
“We signed Bobby Lashley, K.J. Noons, Marius Zaromskis,
and Melvin Manhoef, so I think we’ve got a lot of exciting
fights ahead and added some depth to our different weight classes.”
As
Afromowitz mentioned earlier, perhaps no bigger signing helped
move the promotion forward like that of Fedor.
“He’s
one of a kind, one in ten million, and that show he put on that
night was amazing,” exclaimed Afromowitz. “He was in
trouble and he showed five and a half million people why he’s
the number one fighter in the world.”
Afromowitz
feels that the promotion’s free agent signings combined
with its already established talent will help lead the way in
2010.
“Fedor’s
the anchor, being the number one fighter in the world and the
fighter people want to see on CBS, but here are other guys behind
him that can emerge to superstars themselves,” he relayed.
“There are a few already, and the CBS and Showtime deal
can make their names even bigger.”
Stars
such as Gilbert Melendez, Cris “Cyborg” Santos, and
Jake Shields combined with up and coming talent like Luke Rockhold,
Billy Evangelista, and Tyron Woodley escalated the level of excitement
and performance to an all-time high for Strikeforce, so much
so that even other areas of media took notice.
With
the success of MMA in the video game market in 2009, gaming giant
EA Sports decided to enter the fray and made Strikeforce its
go-to company for stars for its debut title in 2010.
“It’s
a great feeling, especially when a company like EA, which has
accomplished so much in the game world comes along and says,
‘Let’s make an MMA game,’ and integrates our fighters
and brand into their game,” stated Afromowitz.
“I
was blown away when I got a first look at it before the Fedor
vs. (Bret) Rogers fight. I couldn’t believe the detail that’s
gone into the game as far as the development of the fighters
and techniques. I can’t wait because it looks like a ton
of fun.”
With
a year that saw unparalleled growth for Strikeforce in 2009,
he feels they’ve only begun to scratch the surface of what
the company is capable of doing and looks forward to 2010 with
a great sense of anticipation and excitement.
“We’re
going to be back on CBS and Showtime for 16 shows, so I think
there’s going to be a lot of great fights in store,”
he concluded. “Starting in Miami I think there’s going
to be a lot of excitement and we really appreciate the support
the networks have given us, and the efforts the fighters have
made to put on really great shows.
“We
really appreciate the support the fans have given us this year.
They’ve been coming out and watching the shows in the areas
and on TV and have been tremendously supportive and have gotten
behind Strikeforce and made it a really great year for us.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Your
success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy,
and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties."
Helen Keller
|
X1
World Events presents:
The Showdown in Waipahu
Today!
X1 World Events
“Showdown in Waipahu”
Waipahu High School Gym, Waipahu, Hawaii
(Part of the Proceeds will benefit the Waipahu High School Athletic
Dept.)
January 17, 2010
Doors Open at 4 p.m. fights at 5 p.m.
Honolulu, HI (USA): This Sunday, January 17th, 2010, X-1 World
Events will bring professional boxing to Waipahu, Hawaii, the
hometown of some of Hawaii’s greatest boxers, such as former
world champion Jesus Salud and current world champion Brian Vilora.
Former King of the Cage Champion and UFC veteran Ronald “The
Machine Gun” Jhun will be making his pro boxing debut against
very tough MMA veteran Chris Cisneros of Hilo, Hawaii. Jhun will
bring heavy hands in his bout against the younger and likely
quicker Cisneros in what is sure to be a crowd-pleasing war.
Also fighting on the card is local favorite and StrikeForce veteran
Harris “The Hitman” Sarmiento. A star in his own right,
Sarmiento will also be making his pro boxing debut. He is a veteran
of many quality fight promotions, including Strikeforce, the
IFL, and King of the Cage, and he already has over sixty pro
MMA fights under his belt. “The Hitman” is looking
to challenge himself, and will tangle with MMA and boxing journeyman
Yancey “The Crazy Mexican” Cuellar of Minnesota. The
weigh-ins will take place live at Waihapu High School, and on
fight day, the doors will open at 4 PM, with the fights starting
at 5 PM. Tickets are available for $30 (presale), and $40 (at
the door), and can be purchased at No Fear Store (Windward Mall
- 808.235-7576), MMA Box (808.489.2660), Razor Concepts (Pearlridge
- 808.485.5007), Fighters Corner (Kalihi - 808.599.4448), Enfuego
Grill (Kapolei - 808.674.8805), 76 Gas Station Waipahu OTM (townside
- 808.591.6620), as well as at http://x1events.com/
The
rest of the card is stacked with action-packed bouts as well.
With nearly 18 years of boxing experience, Minnesota boxing promoter
John Hoffman will square off with local up-and-comer Michael
Balasi. The last time Hawaiian fight fans saw Balasi fight, his
performance brought them to their feet. X-1 is looking to test
Balasi against a much tougher opponent, and show the fans that
he is a serious contender. Local fighter and recent college graduate
Isaac Arasato will also be assessed against a veteran boxer in
Minnesota’s own Daniel Schlienz. Schlienz is coming off
a decision loss to a former world champion, and hopes that this
bout will turn his luck around. Arasato is on a five-fight win
streak, and he is looking to add another notch to his belt come
Saturday night. Also making his pro boxing debut is Chris “Redbull”
Willems of Hilo, Hawaii. Willems is mostly known for his kickboxing
success, and he will be taking on local MMA fighter Ian Dela
Cuesta. In addition, Justin Mercado will be going for his second
pro win when he faces a very tough striker in MMA champion Brandon
Pieper. Pieper will be making his pro boxing debut.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars from Oahu and
the Big Island. Palema Amone and female MMA fighter Lani Fauhiva
are both coming off wins in their last X-1 appearances, and are
looking for the same when they come to Oahu to battle.
“We
are proud to put on an event that will benefit Waipahu High School,
as we are all about giving back to the community,” said
Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “And the
best part is that the fights are going to absolutely tear the
room off the gym!”
Main Card - Pro Boxing
170
lbs. - Ronald Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Cisneros (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - Isaac Arasato (Palolo Boxing) vs. Daniel Schlienz
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Mike Balasi (Kawano Boxing) vs. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
155 lbs. - Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Yancey Cuellar
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Justin Mercado (Team MMAD) vs. Brandon Pieper (808
Fight Factory)
147 lbs. - Ian Dela Cuesta (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Willems
(AP Boxing)
Undercard
- Mixed Bouts
170
lbs. - MMA - Luis Santiago (Freelance) vs. Dirty Curty (Team
Submit)
170 lbs. - MMA - Palema Amone (Average Joes) vs. Tommy Lawhorn
(Team Submit)
145 lbs. - MMA - Petey Vital (Demon MMA) vs. Shawn Burroughs
(Univ. Combat)
150 lbs. - MMA - Lani Fauhiva (Avg Joes) vs. Jessica Tauala (Team
Submit)
175 lbs. - MMA - Joseph Enaena (LMA) vs. Scott Endo (Univ. Combat)
165 lbs. - MMA - Matthew Myers(South MMA) vs Jairus Munoz (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - KB - Chris Mattos (UFS) vs. Travis Costa (Hakuilua)
165 lbs. - KB - TBA vs. Gaylord Balasi (Kawano KB)
135 lbs. - KB - Ola Lum (O2MA) vs. Carlos Lave (Hakuilua)
115 lbs. - KB - Marina Chong(UFS) vs Sally Tolentino(Freelance)
130 lbs. - KB - Maka Benedicto (PFC) vs. Ioane Kim (Hakuilua)
100 lbs. - Pan - Sonja Soon (Avg Joes) vs. Sivada Koulthasen(Team
Submit)
155 lbs. - TT - Royal Kaua (O2MA) vs. John Giron (Hakuilua)
85 lbs. - EX - Alika Augustin (Hakuilua) vs. Charles Naone (Hakuilua)
|
Kauai
Knockout Championship Total Domination
Next Week!
Kauai War Memorial Convention Hall, Lihue, Kauai
January 23, 2010
5:00PM doors open
6:30PM event starts
MMA
145 Lbs Main Event
Arnold Berdon (Team Hakuilua) Vs Shane Kahananui (Kaua'i Technical
Institute)
The
Main Event Of The Evening Pits A Battle Of Undefeated Fighters,
Ultra-Popular Kaua'i Fighter Shane Kahananui Puts His Perfect
4-0 MMA Record On The Line Against Top145 Lb. Prospect From Team
Hakuilua Arnold Berdon, Who Himself, Sports A 2-0 MMA Record
As Well As A 2-0 Triple Threat Match Record. Shane Will Look
To Use His Solid Stand-Up And Sick Jiu-Jitsu Game To Nullify
Arnold's Lightning Fast Hands And Superior Wrestling.
MMA
170 Lbs Co-Main Event
Eddie Ohia (No Remorse) Vs Weston Victorino (Disciples Of Colorado)
In
The Co-Main Event, Former Kaua'i Martial Artist Of The Year,
Weston Victorino Will Look To Add To His 1-0 MMA Record Against
Tough-As-Nails Fighter Eddie Ohia From Team No Remorse In Kaneohe.
Weston Has Fought Some Of The Best 170 Pounders In The State
In Kickboxing Including Kona Ke, And Boasts Knockout Wins Over
Zane Kamaka And Frank Robello. Currently Traning Jiu-Jitsu In
Colorado, He's Looking To Transition To MMA With The Same Success.
Eddie Ohia Is 2-1-1 In MMA And Trains Under Ground-And-Pound
Specialist Sean Sakata. He Recently Fought Stand And Bang Specialist
Bryson Okada To A Draw So That Tells You He Can Stand With The
Best Of Them. Fight Of The Night Written All Over This One!
MMA
195 Lbs Semi-Main Event
Tasi "The Tyrant" Edwards (Da Hui Fight Team/ Waianae
Boxing Club) Vs Catlin "Kado" Strom (Team Chingaso)
In
The Semi-Main Event, New Mexico Fighter And Current Kaua'i Resident
Catlin "Kado" Strom Is Looking To Improve On His 8-2
MMA Record Against "The Tyrant" Tasi Edwards From Waianae.
Catlin Is No Stranger To Combat Competition. He Boasts A Super
Impressive Jiu-Jitsu Pedigree From Team Chingaso A Royce Gracie
Affiliate School In New Mexico And Is A Skilled MMA Veteran Having
Fought In Some Big Shows On The Mainland. The Last Time "The
Tyrant" Tasi Edwards Traveled Off Of O'ahu To Fight He Knocked
His Opponent Out Cold In Less Than 10 Seconds So He'll Be Bringing
The Noise Come January 23rd. With A Work Ethic That Is Second
To None, And An All-Around Solid Game, Tasi Is One Of The Top
Fighters To Watch In The State Of Hawaii And Represents What
Waianae Fighters Are All About. If You're Lucky Enough To Watch
This Fight, DON'T BLINK, 'Cause It Aint Going To The Judges…
Kids
Pankration Championship Bout
"The Baby Face Assassin" Nainoa Dung (Da Hui Fight
Team/ Waianae Boxing Club) Vs Aidan Claproth (Combined Martial
Science, Chino, CA)
January
23rd Fans Are Going To Be Treated To The First Ever Pankration
Match Held On Kaua'i. Hawaiian MMA Youth Prodigy Nainoa "The
Baby Face Assasin" Dung Will Face The Real Deal In California
Pankration Champion, 11-Year-Old Aidan Claproth Of Chino, California.
On The Line Will Be The Kaua'i Knockout Championship Kids Pankration
Championship Belt. Nainoa Brings An Extremely Well-Rounded Game
At The Mere Age Of 10 Years Old With A Long List Of Accolades
And Accomplishments In Kickboxing, Boxing, And Jiu-Jitsu Competitions.
Aidan Claproths Pedigree Aint So Shabby Either, He's A 3x Kids
Pankration Champ In California And Trains And Competes In Jiu-Jitsu,
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, USJA Judo, Boxing, MMA And Grappling. This
Match Is A Guaranteed Show Stealer!
MMA
125 Lbs
Zach Salazar (Team Hakuilua) Vs Sergio Hurtado (Boars Nest Kaua'i)
MMA
190 Lbs
Ben "Pele" Fonoti (Team Leoleo) Vs David Borgess (Dogg
House)
Submission
Grappling 155 Lbs 1x7 Min Rnd
Shane Agena (02 Martial Arts Academy) Vs Luke Hacker (Longman
Jiu-Jitsu)
Triple
Threat Match 185lbs
David Kealoha (Kauai Pankration) Vs Tba
MMA
205 Lbs
Eddie May (Team Hakuilua) Vs Edwin Garces (Dogg House)
MMA
145 Lbs
Justin Lono (Freelance) Vs Tyson Hawelu (Ka-Mole Jiu-Jitsu)
MMA
135 Lbs
Adam Rivera (Team Hakuilua) Vs Daniel Deanda (Ka-Mole Jiu-Jitsu)
Kickboxing
155 Lbs
Matthew Romero (Team Colorado) Vs Kai Boy Reyes (K-Pal Kickboxing)
Kickboxing
165 Lbs
Royal Kaua (O2 Martial Arts Academy) Vs Duane Silva (Disciples
Of Puhi)
MMA
185 Lbs
Waiola Keliiholokai (Freelance) Vs Isaac Worth (Freelance)
MMA
125 Lbs
Jacob Kauwe (Team Hakuilua) Vs Domenick Ansagay (Freelance)
Kickboxing
145 Lbs
Isaac Hopps (O2 Martial Arts Academy) Vs Erickson Abalos (Disciples
Of Puhi)
|
Sidney
Silva Seminar
After almost a year Training and teaching in Las Vegas at Wanderlei
Silva’s Gym ( www.wandfightteam.com ) I have the pleasure
to be back in Hawaii to see my good friends and students for
a few days and also use this opportunity to share my grappling
skills with you guys.
This
MMA,NO GI, seminar it is about to show you effective positions,
the ones that really work, not the fancy acrobatics ones, the
real ones, the most commons attacks, transitions between strikes
and grappling, mistakes, combination's and of course the defenses
and escapes for all that using LEVERAGE which is the real weapon
of Jiu-Jitsu.
It
is all about the details. Everybody knows how to do an arm bar,
triangle, choke … right? But also a lot of time people miss
the positions because they miss the details. A little detail
can make the position successful or not, can be the difference
between the victory and the defeat.
Also
I would like to do a different style of seminar, which instead
of only showing you the positions and drills, like the traditional
types of seminar, you will also be allowed to ask your own questions
about specific positions and/or moves that you concern about.
I
want you, at the end, to feel that you learned as much as possible
and especially had fun.
So
I would like to invite you and your friends to learn and have
fun on February 06 from 10am to 1 pm at HMC ( Kalihi ).
The
investment is only $ 30 and the seminar will start at 10am until
1pm and after will have lots of time for free training and enough
time to get back home and watch the UFC.
If you want to pre-register and guarantee your place send a check
or money order to:
Erick
Alves
1927 A Wilhelmina Rise
Honolulu HI 96816
Call
Erick for more information at (808) 386 - 8265 for more info
or email him at erik25wa@hotmail.com
|
Exclusive:
manager of the stars bets on MMA and confirms Belfort vs Anderson
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
A manager who works with the likes of soccer stars Ronaldo and
Roberto Carlos, Fabiano Farah had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com.
The agent responsible for the career of Vitor Belfort confirmed
the fight with Anderson Silva, on April10 in Abu Dhabi, and told
why he decided to invest in MMA. Check it out:
How
did you first start working with Vitor Belfort?
From
my experience in career management I understood Vitor is a great
exponent. He has one of the best contracts in the UFC and on
April 10 he will fight for the world title against Anderson Silva.
Is
this fight really confirmed?
All
that’s left to do is sign the contract, but there’s
already a verbal agreement in place from both parties and, mainly,
from the UFC.
Besides
Belfort, do you work with any other fighters?
In
MMA, for the meantime, I only work with Vitor. I do qualitative
management, not quantitative. To me time is precious, and I perform
quality management, with a strategy that has a beginning, middle
and end. Quantity isn’t always a way to work with quality.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
“Anderson
is extremely better than Belfort”
By Eduardo
Ferreira
Beginning of year is not resting time to Rafael “Feijão”.
On the break of the trainings on X-Gym, Cavalcante gave an exclusive
interview TATAME TV looking to his bigger goal: to win on Strikeforce.
“There’s so many people in this weight, each time I
check on the website there’s someone new, so I have to train
and keep training, and that’s what I’m doing”,
Feijão said, revealing his wish to face Dan Henderson
and Gegard Mousasi his year. Check below the exclusive chat,
when Feijão talked about the year of the gym and the expectation
to the next fight of Rodrigo “Minotauro” and Anderson
Silva on UFC, criticizing the fact that Vitor Belfort accepted
to face his ex training partner, and risked his guess to the
fight: “Anderson is so much better than Vitor... He will
knock out”.
Are you preparing, is there any fight scheduled?
Probably in the end of February we’ll be fighting again,
it seems that Anderson will fight in April too, so everyone is
training together. Paulo Thiago is training with us, (André)
Galvão...
And who will you face?
I have no idea, there’s so many people on this category.
Everytime I look there on the card there’s one more, so
my part is to train and keep trained, and that’s what I’m
doing.
How was the end of the year? Junior “Cigano” dos Santos
won again... Did you train with him?
I trained. We represent Team Nogueira, everyone here, me, Anderson,
everyone here who’s from the team and is here training.
It’s Team Nogueira on the heads. I’ve trained with
Rogério, with Cigano and I think that we‘ve closed
with golden key, our team had only victories. Rogério
showed what he came for, he showed that he’s one the best
boxers on MMA, why everyone thinks that and now why everyone
knows that. Cigano has a house on his hands, he hits and the
guy falls down, I finished the year with a victory, Anderson...
Everyone were perfect. We have to thank God and our families
everyday, because they support us to be where we are.
Now that Minotauro will face Cain Velasquez, what do you think
about this fight, what he needs to focus on that combat?
Rodrigo is back to his old shape. I’ve been training with
him to another fight since Couture’s fight. When you’re
winning, everyone supports you, but when you lose, everyone say
bad things. I think Minotauro is an example to everyone. To be
good on the good is easy, the man to take a knock down, to come
back and to this stuff that he does, that’s hard, so I think
this fight with Cain Velasquez is though, he’s a very tough
guy, he’s young, but I think that with Minotauro’s
experience, his technique... I think he’s much better standing
up and on the ground. On the ground, Couture is pretty good,
he fought with Jacaré. Our champion, that’s starting
now, the difference is minimal.
Is almost decided that Anderson will face Vitor. You trained
with Vitor, but you’re Anderson’s friend and train
with him for a long time. How do you think this fight’s
gonna be? Do you think it’s gonna be Anderson’s biggest
challenge or Anderson will beat Vitor easily?
Fights are never easy. It’s going to be a tough fight, Vitor
is a tough fighter, he’s a great fighter, experient, good
on boxing, on the ground, a complete guy. And about trainings,
I believe in choose only one side, you can’t play on both
sides, I don’t accept that, my team and I, we don’t
believe on training globalization and we’re very closed.
So, never in my life I’ll fight against a partner, a friend
from my gym, I don’t like that. About the fight now, I think
Anderson extremely better than Vitor, standing up and on the
ground, and Anderson will win this fight without any doubts.
The way he’s training, the will that he’s coming, he’ll
knock out.
Do you think that Vitor made a bad choice accepting this fight,
even being a professional?
I think that he was wrong on considering the fight. Its the same
as if a guy offered me to fight with Rogério (Nogueira)
or Minotauro. I think that fame goes away someday, but who’s
centered only one thing will last: family and your truly friends.
Fame, everyone hugging you, pictures, magazines, it goes away...
nothing will go when you die. In my opinion, just to consider
this fight, I don’t admit this kind of attitude.
And on 2010, do you want to try the Strikeforce’s belt?
A lot, I want it a lot.
Is that your goal?
That’s my goal, my aim this year is that. A lot of people
will think “how arrogant” but we live of dreams, and
that’s mine, to get there and have the belt, I want this
belt to me, to my family, I’ve trained hard for it, I train
Jiu-Jitsu since I was ten. I was graduated in Veterinary and
I drop it to follow my dream, that’s my dream and if it’s
God’s willing I’ll win the belt. There are only tough
guys, better than me on some stuff, but I’ll push hard to
bring this belt to Brazil.
It would be a dream to face Dan Henderson then Mousasi for the
belt?
A
lot, I’d like it a lot.
Source: Tatame
|
Gouveia
to Make MFC Debut April 9th
UFC Veteran to Face Light-Heavyweight Jimmo
By FCF
Staff
The
Maximum Fighting Championship has announced, via its official
website, that UFC veteran Wilson Gouveia has signed a multi-fight
deal with the promotion, and will make his debut against Ryan
Jimmo on April 9th. MFC 25 will take place at the Winspear Centre
/ Enmax Hall in Edmonton, Alberta, and as usual, the event will
be broadcast live on HDNet.
Gouveia
(12-7) has decided to return to the light-heavyweight division,
after incurring back-to-back TKO losses to middleweights Nate
Marquardt and Alan Belcher in 2009, defeats that prompted his
release from the UFC. Gouveia fought 10 times in the Octagon
from 2006 through 2009 and put together a UFC record of 6-4.
The
American Top Team fighter was quoted in the MFC story stating
that the cut to 185lbs. was “too much sacrifice and too
hard,” and that further, Goveia believes he is “a better”
and “more exciting fighter at 205 pounds.”
Jimmo
(12-1) continues to impress, aside from an exhibition loss while
competing in the eighth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”,
the accomplished karate practitioner has won 12 straight since
losing in his 2007 MMA debut. In 2009, Jimmo earned decision
victories over Mychal Clark, Marvin Eastman, and former MFC light-heavyweight
champ Emanuel Newton.
The
MFC has also announced that the April 9th event will feature
a “major title fight;” details will be confirmed shortly.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
From
the treasure chest: 10 slaps that marked the fight world
by Marcelo
Dunlop
This
was originally published in NOCAUTE Magazine in 2008.
Countdown:
10 slaps that marked the fight world
10)
Renzo Gracie before the fight with Wallid Ismail
For
someone who was just a kid and wasn’t even thinking of becoming
a reporter, much less about fights, what most marked the Jiu-Jitsu
challenge between Wallid and Renzo in 1993, at Flamengo gymnasium
in Rio de Janeiro, were the moments leading up to the classic,
like the warm-up and stare-down. For someone who never witnessed
a Jiu-Jitsu match, seeing Renzo warm up for the match taking
resonant slaps to the face from a brother was more noteworthy
than the half-hour match itself.
9)
Royce and his victims
Notice
that in the first fights in the Ultimate Fighting Championship,
in 1993, the guys didn’t know how to show they were giving
up and would slap the canvas. Worse for them, as pioneer Royce
would just squeeze harder on their necks, elbows, shoulders…
“Hit
me harder!”
It
came from boxing and became a tradition. As soon as the guy gets
hit in the ring, he slaps his own face to show he can handle
another one just like it – even if he doesn’t really
plan on eating another punch. The gesture is seen in nine of
ten MMA fights, especially in Brazil. It doesn’t always
work out.
7)
Cro Cop versus Minotauro
Of
all the sonorous blows from the Croatian star, few marked Brazilian
fans more than these three slaps, when Mino popped his elbow,
in 2003.
6)
Slap fighting
Born
in the olden days in Jiu-Jitsu academies, the old method of training
for fight situations produced a generation of MMA stars. In the
days of Carlson Gracie, Ivan Gomes and Euclides Pereira, a lot
of events forbid punches, just open-handed slaps – which
hurt like hell…
5)
Randy Couture on Tito Ortiz
After
hearing every insult in the book from cantankerous bad boy Tito
Ortiz, Randy said in a 2003 press conference, “I’m
going to spank him.” Said and done, and at the end you can
see, while he dominated Tito, Randy smacking him, to the crowd’s
delight.
4)
Sakuraba against Nino Schembri
The
Japanese showboat loved it: every now and again he would come
up with something flashy, during the days of Pride, like the
“telephone”, two open-handed slaps to both ears of
his opponent simultaneously. He quit the habit when “Elvis”
reciprocated with a knee square on his nose, knocking out the
pro-wrestler in orange shorts.
3)
Wand on Quinton Jackson
Silva
was recovering from a knee injury, and Rampage thought he could
play with fire. He took the mic after knocking out Randleman,
challenged the champion, and got slapped on the chest. The scene
at Pride, in 2003, marked the beginning of one of the biggest
rivalries in MMA history.
2)
Rickson on Hugo Duarte
In
a classic video on Youtube.com, Rickson and his then-rival from
luta livre met on the beach, and didn’t think twice about
getting in the way of the group playing paddle ball.
1)
Ricardo Arona at ADCC 1999
An
exchange of grips a bit too hard was enough to put him off. Arona
(shaved head) didn’t like it and gave the Russian a resonant
slap to the neck. If it weren’t for several peace keepers,
the crowd at the ADCC may have witnessed an MMA fight instead
of the submission grappling they were expecting. Despite the
incident, the match eventually played out to the end.
0)
Bonus Slap
Keeping
with Japanese tradition, Antonio Inoki tries to knock out Lyoto
Machida, who takes it like a man.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Independent
World MMA Rankings - January 15, 2010
By Zach
Arnold
From the office of the Independent World MMA Rankings
January
15, 2010: The January 2010 Independent World MMA Rankings have
been released. These rankings are independent of any single MMA
media outlet or sanctioning body, and are published on multiple
web sites.
In
addition to the numerous MMA web sites that publish the Independent
World MMA Rankings, you can also access the rankings at any time
by going to www.IndependentWorldMMARankings.com.
Some
of the best and most knowledgeable MMA writers from across the
MMA media landscape have come together to form one independent
voting panel. These voting panel members are, in alphabetical
order: Zach Arnold (Fight Opinion); Nicholas Bailey (MMA Ratings);
Jared Barnes (Freelance); Jordan Breen (Sherdog); Jim Genia (Full
Contact Fighter, MMA Memories, and MMA Journalist Blog); Jesse
Holland (MMA Mania); Robert Joyner (Freelance); Todd Martin (CBS
Sportsline); Jim Murphy (The Savage Science); Zac Robinson (Sports
by the Numbers MMA); Leland Roling (Bloody Elbow); Michael David
Smith (AOL Fanhouse); Jonathan Snowden (Heavy.com); Joshua Stein
(MMA Opinion); Ivan Trembow (Freelance); and Dave Walsh (Head
Kick Legend).
January
2010 Independent World MMA Rankings
Ballots collected on January 12, 2010
Heavyweight
Rankings (206 to 265 lbs.)
1. Fedor Emelianenko (31-1, 1 No Contest)
2. Brock Lesnar (4-1)
3. Frank Mir (13-4)
4. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-5-1, 1 No Contest)
5. Shane Carwin (11-0)
6. Brett Rogers (10-1)
7. Junior dos Santos (10-1)
8. Alistair Overeem (32-11, 1 No Contest)
9. Cain Velasquez (7-0)
10. Fabricio Werdum (13-4-1)
Light
Heavyweight Rankings (186 to 205 lbs.)
1. Lyoto Machida (16-0)
2. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (18-4)
3. Rashad Evans (14-1-1)
4. Quinton Jackson (30-7)
5. Anderson Silva (25-4)
6. Gegard Mousasi (27-2-1)
7. Forrest Griffin (17-6)
8. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (18-3)
9. Dan Henderson (25-7)
10. Thiago Silva (14-2)
Middleweight
Rankings (171 to 185 lbs.)
1. Anderson Silva (25-4)
2. Nathan Marquardt (29-8-2)
3. Dan Henderson (25-7)
4. Vitor Belfort (19-8)
5. Demian Maia (11-1)
6. Jake Shields (24-4-1)
7. Chael Sonnen (24-10-1)
8. Yushin Okami (23-5)
9. Robbie Lawler (16-5, 1 No Contest)
10. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza (11-2, 1 No Contest)
Welterweight
Rankings (156 to 170 lbs.)
1. Georges St. Pierre (19-2)
2. Jon Fitch (21-3, 1 No Contest)
3. Thiago Alves (16-6)
4. Josh Koscheck (14-4)
5. Dan Hardy (23-6)
6. Matt Hughes (43-7)
7. Paulo Thiago (12-1)
8. Mike Swick (14-3)
9. Marius Zaromskis (13-3)
10. Paul Daley (23-8-2)
Lightweight
Rankings (146 to 155 lbs.)
1. B.J. Penn (15-5-1)
2. Shinya Aoki (23-4, 1 No Contest)
3. Eddie Alvarez (19-2)
4. Kenny Florian (12-4)
5. Tatsuya Kawajiri (26-5-2)
6. Gray Maynard (9-0, 1 No Contest)
7. Frankie Edgar (11-1)
8. Diego Sanchez (21-3)
9. Joachim Hansen (19-8-1)
10. Gilbert Melendez (17-2)
Featherweight
Rankings (136 to 145 lbs.)
1. Jose Aldo (16-1)
2. Mike Brown (23-5)
3. Urijah Faber (23-3)
4. Hatsu Hioki (20-4-2)
5. Bibiano Fernandes (7-2)
6. Raphael Assuncao (14-2)
7. “Lion” Takeshi Inoue (17-3)
8. Manny Gamburyan (10-4)
9. Marlon Sandro (15-1)
10. Michihiro Omigawa (9-8-1)
Bantamweight
Rankings (126 to 135 lbs.)
1. Brian Bowles (8-0)
2. Miguel Torres (37-2)
3. Masakatsu Ueda (10-0-2)
4. Dominick Cruz (14-1)
5. Joseph Benavidez (11-1)
6. Takeya Mizugaki (12-4-2)
7. Damacio Page (12-4)
8. Scott Jorgensen (8-3)
9. Wagnney Fabiano (13-2)
10. Akitoshi Tamura (14-8-2)
The
Independent World MMA Rankings are tabulated on a monthly basis
in each of the top seven weight classes of MMA, from heavyweight
to bantamweight, with fighters receiving ten points for a first-place
vote, nine points for a second-place vote, and so on.
The
rankings are based purely on the votes of the members of the
voting panel, with nobody’s vote counting more than anybody
else’s vote, and no computerized voting.
The
voters are instructed to vote primarily based on fighters’
actual accomplishments in the cage/ring (the quality of opposition
that they’ve actually beaten), not based on a broad, subjective
perception of which fighters would theoretically win fantasy
match-ups.
Inactivity:
Fighters who have not fought in the past 12 months are not eligible
to be ranked, and will regain their eligibility the next time
they fight.
Disciplinary
Suspensions: Fighters who are currently serving disciplinary
suspensions, or who have been denied a license for drug test
or disciplinary reasons, are not eligible to be ranked.
Changing
Weight Classes: When a fighter announces that he is leaving one
weight class in order to fight in another weight class, the fighter
is not eligible to be ranked in the new weight class until he
has his first fight in the new weight class.
Catch
Weight Fights: When fights are contested at weights that are
in between the limits of the various weight classes, they are
considered to be in the higher weight class. The weight limits
for each weight class are listed at the top of the rankings for
each weight class.
Special
thanks to Eric Kamander, Zach Arnold, and Joshua Stein for their
invaluable help with this project, and special thanks to Garrett
Bailey for designing
our logo.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Kurt
Pellegrino vs. Fabricio Camoes on Tap for UFC 111
By Ariel
Helwani
Ariel Helwani is a Video Reporter and Writer for FanHouse
Kurt Pellegrino (14-4) will return to the Octagon at UFC 111
against rising star Fabricio Camoes (10-4-1), MMA Fighting has
learned. Bout agreements have yet to be officially signed for
the fight, but both fighters have agreed to it.
UFC
111, which will be headlined by Georges St-Pierre vs. Dan Hardy
for the welterweight title, will take place on March 27 from
the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
Pellegrino
was scheduled to face Frankie Edgar at The Ultimate Fighter Finale
last month, but was forced to pull out after injuring his back.
The New Jersey-native most recently defeated Josh Neer at UFC
101 and is currently riding a three-fight winning streak.
Nicknamed
"Morango," which means strawberry in Portuguese, Camoes
fought to a majority draw against Caol Uno in his Octagon debut
at UFC 106 in November. The Royler Gracie Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
black belt is unbeaten in his last eight fights and has fought
for both Strikeforce and EliteXC in the past.
Shane
Carwin vs. Frank Mir for the interim heavyweight title has also
been officially announced for the card.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Abu
Dhabi: absolute champion takes 12 thousand dollars
by Marcelo
Dunlop
Three months from the World Pro 2010, in Abu Dhabi, the organizers
released the news prize money has been bolstered. The absolute
champion of the main division (purple, brown and black belts),
for example, will take home 12 thousand dollars.
And
anyone planning to compete in California to get an all-paid trip
to the Emirates had better hurry. The discount for East Coast
USA qualifiers ends this Thursday at noon, local time.
Sign-ups
without discount end on the 18th. Find out more by clicking here.
On
the eve of the tryouts on the 24th, in Santa Cruz, a rules seminar
will be held by Alvaro Mansor, from 4pm to 7pm on the 23rd.
Check
out the prize-money values for the main tournament, in the UAE:
World
Jiu-Jitsu Pro
Abu Dhabi, EAU
April 15 to 17
A-
Purple to black
Divisions 65KG, 74KG, 83KG, 92KG, +92KG, Open
1) Absolute = 12 thousand dollars
Weight
1) 8 thousand dollars
2) 3 thousand dollars
3) 1.5 thousand dollars
B-
Branca a azul
Divisions 63KG, 68KG, 73KG, 78KG, 83KG, 88KG, 93KG, 98KG, +98KG,
Lightweight open (-73KG), Heavyweight open (+73KG)
1) 3 thousand dollars
2) 1.5 thousand dollars
C-
Feminino
Lightweight (-63KG) and heavyweight (+63KG)
1) 3.5 thousand dollars
2) 2 thousand dollars
For
greater information: www.worldpro2010.com
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
WEC
STILL PLANNING A REALITY SHOW
by Jeff
Cain
MMAWeekly.com first broke the news that World Extreme Cagefighting
was planning a reality show loosely based on the UFC’s “The
Ultimate Fighter” in November 2008. It’s been 14 months,
but the organization still plans on making the reality show a
reality.
"From
the beginning (a reality show) was something always in our plans,"
said WEC vice president Peter Dropick in that 2008 interview.
"Versus, we're in discussions with Versus. We're looking
right now at trying to figure out what we're going to do exactly.
"We've
got a lot of ideas. We want to find ways similar to the UFC to
showcase our fighters on a more consistent basis,” he added.
“I don't know if we'll do exactly what the UFC did with
‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ but we do have plans for a
reality show of some nature."
At
the WEC 46 post-fight press conference, WEC General Manager Reed
Harris confirmed that a reality show is still in the plans.
“We’ve
made some progress. We’ve had a number of meetings and obviously
talked to Versus, which is the home of the WEC,” said Harris.
“At this point there’s nothing concrete, but we’re
still working towards that.”
No
timetable has been set, but don't be surprised to see a WEC reality
show on Versus sometime in 2010.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Happiness
and love are just a choice away."
Leo Buscaglia
|
Professional
Boxing Returns.
X1 World Events presents:
The Showdown in Waipahu
Weigh Ins
Date Jan 16 (Saturday)
Time 1pm
Place Waipahu HighGym
X1
World Events
“Showdown in Waipahu”
Waipahu
High School Gym, Waipahu, Hawaii
(Part of the Proceeds will benefit the Waipahu High School Athletic
Dept.)
January 17, 2010
Doors Open at 4 p.m. fights at 5 p.m.
Honolulu, HI (USA): This Sunday, January 17th, 2010, X-1 World
Events will bring professional boxing to Waipahu, Hawaii, the
hometown of some of Hawaii’s greatest boxers, such as former
world champion Jesus Salud and current world champion Brian Vilora.
Former King of the Cage Champion and UFC veteran Ronald “The
Machine Gun” Jhun will be making his pro boxing debut against
very tough MMA veteran Chris Cisneros of Hilo, Hawaii. Jhun will
bring heavy hands in his bout against the younger and likely
quicker Cisneros in what is sure to be a crowd-pleasing war.
Also fighting on the card is local favorite and StrikeForce veteran
Harris “The Hitman” Sarmiento. A star in his own right,
Sarmiento will also be making his pro boxing debut. He is a veteran
of many quality fight promotions, including Strikeforce, the
IFL, and King of the Cage, and he already has over sixty pro
MMA fights under his belt. “The Hitman” is looking
to challenge himself, and will tangle with MMA and boxing journeyman
Yancey “The Crazy Mexican” Cuellar of Minnesota. The
weigh-ins will take place live at Waihapu High School, and on
fight day, the doors will open at 4 PM, with the fights starting
at 5 PM. Tickets are available for $30 (presale), and $40 (at
the door), and can be purchased at No Fear Store (Windward Mall
- 808.235-7576), MMA Box (808.489.2660), Razor Concepts (Pearlridge
- 808.485.5007), Fighters Corner (Kalihi - 808.599.4448), Enfuego
Grill (Kapolei - 808.674.8805), 76 Gas Station Waipahu OTM (townside
- 808.591.6620), as well as at http://x1events.com/
The
rest of the card is stacked with action-packed bouts as well.
With nearly 18 years of boxing experience, Minnesota boxing promoter
John Hoffman will square off with local up-and-comer Michael
Balasi. The last time Hawaiian fight fans saw Balasi fight, his
performance brought them to their feet. X-1 is looking to test
Balasi against a much tougher opponent, and show the fans that
he is a serious contender. Local fighter and recent college graduate
Isaac Arasato will also be assessed against a veteran boxer in
Minnesota’s own Daniel Schlienz. Schlienz is coming off
a decision loss to a former world champion, and hopes that this
bout will turn his luck around. Arasato is on a five-fight win
streak, and he is looking to add another notch to his belt come
Saturday night. Also making his pro boxing debut is Chris “Redbull”
Willems of Hilo, Hawaii. Willems is mostly known for his kickboxing
success, and he will be taking on local MMA fighter Ian Dela
Cuesta. In addition, Justin Mercado will be going for his second
pro win when he faces a very tough striker in MMA champion Brandon
Pieper. Pieper will be making his pro boxing debut.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars from Oahu and
the Big Island. Palema Amone and female MMA fighter Lani Fauhiva
are both coming off wins in their last X-1 appearances, and are
looking for the same when they come to Oahu to battle.
“We
are proud to put on an event that will benefit Waipahu High School,
as we are all about giving back to the community,” said
Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “And the
best part is that the fights are going to absolutely tear the
room off the gym!”
Main Card - Pro Boxing
170
lbs. - Ronald Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Cisneros (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - Isaac Arasato (Palolo Boxing) vs. Daniel Schlienz
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Mike Balasi (Kawano Boxing) vs. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
155 lbs. - Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Yancey Cuellar
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Justin Mercado (Team MMAD) vs. Brandon Pieper (808
Fight Factory)
147 lbs. - Ian Dela Cuesta (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Willems
(AP Boxing)
Undercard
- Mixed Bouts
170
lbs. - MMA - Luis Santiago (Freelance) vs. Dirty Curty (Team
Submit)
170 lbs. - MMA - Palema Amone (Average Joes) vs. Tommy Lawhorn
(Team Submit)
145 lbs. - MMA - Petey Vital (Demon MMA) vs. Shawn Burroughs
(Univ. Combat)
150 lbs. - MMA - Lani Fauhiva (Avg Joes) vs. Jessica Tauala (Team
Submit)
175 lbs. - MMA - Joseph Enaena (LMA) vs. Scott Endo (Univ. Combat)
165 lbs. - MMA - Matthew Myers(South MMA) vs Jairus Munoz (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - KB - Chris Mattos (UFS) vs. Travis Costa (Hakuilua)
165 lbs. - KB - TBA vs. Gaylord Balasi (Kawano KB)
135 lbs. - KB - Ola Lum (O2MA) vs. Carlos Lave (Hakuilua)
115 lbs. - KB - Marina Chong(UFS) vs Sally Tolentino(Freelance)
130 lbs. - KB - Maka Benedicto (PFC) vs. Ioane Kim (Hakuilua)
100 lbs. - Pan - Sonja Soon (Avg Joes) vs. Sivada Koulthasen(Team
Submit)
155 lbs. - TT - Royal Kaua (O2MA) vs. John Giron (Hakuilua)
85 lbs. - EX - Alika Augustin (Hakuilua) vs. Charles Naone (Hakuilua)
|
Trainer:
'Brock Lesnar is Definitely Coming Back to Fight'
By Ray Hui
Brock Lesnar is "definitely coming back," the UFC heavyweight
champion's head trainer Greg Nelson said Thursday in an interview
with ESPN.com's MMA Live.
"Brock
Lesnar is definitely coming back to fight," Nelson told
host Jon Anik. "And he's just kind of coming up slowly,
training, trying to get his body ready and being smart with his
recovery."
Lesnar
has been sidelined by what was first believed to be mono, but
later revealed to be an intestinal disorder, diverticulitis.
Nelson
is the leader of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in St. Paul,
where Lesnar joined in 2007 when he began his pursuit in MMA.
As one of the few with access to the very private heavyweight,
Nelson has been communicating with Lesnar through emails, texts
and occasional phone calls.
"He's
been going into the doctor and making sure everything is going
well for him and he'll continue to go in for a couple more tests
to make sure he is 100% ready to train when he starts up,"
Nelson said. "He still has a few more things to go through."
UFC
president Dana White told MMAFighting.com's Ariel Helwani on
Tuesday that a press conference will be held next week in Las
Vegas for Lesnar to speak publicly for the first time about his
illness. While Nelson said he fully expects Lesnar to return,
he does not know the details of the conference.
"That's
the surprise for everybody," Nelson said. "I'm not
sure of the expectations at this point right now."
White
has described Lesnar's illness as potentially career-ending,
but Nelson believes that's not the case and Lesnar is the type
of individual with the strength to pull through the health issues.
"i
know that he'll be able to come back but we're not going to push
the river at all," Nelson said. "We want him to be
100% when he starts to train, but being the tough guy and athlete
the majority of his life, he's been able to deal with adversity
like this, so I'm sure once he gets going. He'll be at the top
of his game real quick."
Source: MMA Fighting
|
Strikeforce:
Andre Galvão anxious to debut
By Eduardo Ferreira
Without fighting since Dream GP’s finals, André Galvão
is anxious to make his Strikeforce debut. While a visit to the
training center of X-Gym, the black belt gave an exclusive interview
and talked about the opportunity on United States. “I must
fight on January 30, but I’m waiting. They’re holding
me for a long time... A revolution is happening and you’ll
see the difference”, guarantees, making clear the interest
on participate of Worlds Jiu-Jitsu this year, in case he doesn’t
have any MMA fight scheduled on the same time. Check below the
exclusive chat with Galvão.
You were going to fight in December, then it was changed to January...
When will you debut on Strikeforce?
I might fight on January 30, but I’m still waiting. It’s
pretty close and I depend on their answer. They’re holding
me for a while, I’m ready to fight for a long time, I thought
I was going to fight in December, in November, and they postponed,
and now they’re saying about the 30th.
Did they already say something about opponent?
They didn’t say anything about the opponent yet, but I’m
ready to anyone, to debut well, to show my game, my evolution
on the training from our training to search the Jiu-Jitsu, the
submission, the technical knock out.
What’s disturbing you about taking this long to choose the
opponent?
The psychological is what disturb the most, sometimes you lost
your focus. You’re ready to fight and they tell you that
you won’t fight on this event, but on the next one. It happened
three times with me. It’s disturbing me on my diet too,
my physical, my training… We train power, explosion, speed,
according to the time we have to the fight. You have to be very
clever, as the physical preparer Rogério Camões
(physical coach) says, you have to be clever on a training like
that. But, thanks God, I always trained a lot on Jiu-Jitsu, all
the time, and I think it’s not disturbing me.
Do you see the fighters on your category? Who do you must face?
There are a lot of athletes, you know, and there are a lot of
though guys. My category will have the fight for the belt now
on the 30th with Nick Dias against Marius Zaromskis, that guy
who won the Dream, they’re tough athletes, and there are
a lot of other athletes. There’s a lot of people on 170
pounds category.
Do you want to fight for the belt as soon as possible?
I’m not hurried, I’ll do my job, I’ll be focus
on each fight to do a good work and the belt is a consequence,
to be a champion is a consequence from your work, dedication.
So, it’s to think fight after fight. If it’s God’s
willing I’ll win that before the end of my contract.
Will we see you on the World’s Jiu-Jitsu or is your career
totally on MMA?
I want very much to fight Jiu-Jitsu yet, I love Jiu-Jitsu and
I don’t fight MMA for a long time, I think my last fight
was in July, almost seven months without fighting so I want to
fight. I’m a Jiu-Jitsu athlete who fights MMA, every month
I was fighting a couple of championships, competition is inside
me, it’s a part, but I can’t say if I will be fighting
or not, but I believe that, if it’s God’s willing,
no, because it’ll mean that my career is more focused on
MMA, and that’s what I want now.
In which category?
Light heavyweight.
And what’s the expectation to 2010?
I
have a fourteen months contract and inside that I have to make
five fights and I want to end that, and, if it’s God’s
willing, finishing that, to go to a step higher, the UFC. Is
everything in God’s hands, everything is going well to me,
I have nothing to complain, but I have a good structure on trainings,
Anderson is helping me, Minotauro supports me, all my training
partners, trainers, Distak, Rogerião, Juan, everyone is
helping me and that’s good, an evolution is happening and
I think you’ll note the difference. And in 2010 is to make
fight after fight, seriously, because in Japan I’ve lost
the focus and I intend not to make those mistakes again neither
the mistake that I had on my last fight to have a shining 2010.
Source: Tatame
|
Mike
Tyson’s “knockout” in pro wrestling
by Marcelo
Dunlop
When
faced with the proposition of making a bizarre appearance in
the ring, Mike Tyson must have thought, “Well, it might
as well be in the ring.”
In
a typical pro wresting match, Tyson came up spades. With no gloves
and without taking off his shirt, he knocked out his own teammate.
The
appearance of Tyson at the WWE’s Raw event, in Minnesota,
was a brash attempt at disputing audiences with UFC Fight Night,
a show featuring fighters from the UFC reality show. “Iron”
Mike, who hasn’t fought since 2005, made a pro wrestling
appearance in 1998.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Dos
Santos vs. Gonzaga Confirmed for March 21st
By FCF
Staff
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced today that rising
heavyweight Junior Dos Santos will take on established veteran
Gabriel Gonzaga, at the promotion’s upcoming March 21st
event in Broomfield, Colorado. The two had been originally scheduled
to fight at UFC 108 earlier this month, but Gonzaga was forced
to withdraw due to a staph infection.
Dos
Santos (10-1) is coming off yet another impressive performance,
as the heavyweight stopped Gilbert Yvel in the first round on
January 2nd, to run his Octagon record to 4-0. Since arriving
in the UFC, Dos Santos has also earned victories over Fabricio
Werdum, Stefan Struve and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic.
Since
failing in his heavyweight title bid against former champion
Randy Couture, in August, 2007, Gonzaga (11-4) has gone 3-2.
During that stretch the Brazilian heavyweight has defeated Justin
McCully, Josh Hendricks and most recently Chris Tuchscherer,
with losses coming against Werdum and Shane Carwin.
The
March 21st card will mark the first Versus broadcast of a UFC
event. Other bouts that have been confirmed to date include Jon
Jones vs. Brandon Vera, John Howard vs. Anthony Johnson and Vladimir
Matyushenko vs. Eliot Marshall.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Nova
União wants to do 100 fights in 2010
After winning important victories in 2009, as José Aldo’s
victory on WEC, the Nova União team wants to celebrate
even more in 2010. On February 6, Ronnys Torres Will debut between
the lightweights on UFC, and Dedé Pederneiras is excited
to one more year full of fights.
Last
year, the team made 93 fights and had a yield of 82%, but the
leader of the team doesn’t get satisfied. “It’s
a little smaller comparing to 2008, but if we had won at least
two fights that we thought we won, we would kept the score”,
said Dedé, wanting to keep the score above 80% this year.
According the technique’s account, the athletes from Nova
União team got up on the rings and octagons 260 times
on the last four years, keeping the yield of 82,7%.
Source: Tatame
|
Strikeforce
Targeting March 26 for 'Challengers VII' Show
By Ariel
Helwani
Strikeforce's 2010 calendar is quickly beginning to take shape.
MMA
Fighting recently reported that the organization is planning
on following up their upcoming Strikeforce: Miami show with a
Feb. 26 Challengers event in San Jose, Calif. Well, in addition
to that event, MMA Fighting has also learned that the organization
is in the process of finalizing a March 26 Challengers event
at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, Calif.
The
organization has yet to officially announce the new dates, but
CEO Scott Coker told MMA Fighting Wednesday that there would
be Challengers shows in both February and March.
Expected
to compete on those upcoming Challengers cards are Luke Rockhold,
Daniel Cormer, Sarah Kaufman and Meisha Tate, among others. The
Save Mart Center held the fourth installment of Strikeforce Challengers
in November.
Strikeforce
has already announced that they would put on another CBS show,
featuring Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson in separate bouts,
in April, but no official date or location has been announced.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
AP
report: UFC sells 10 percent stake to UAE
By Steve
Cofield
After
strong whispers over the weekend that multiple trips by UFC officials
to Abu Dhabi were to negotiate the sale of a 10 percent minority
stake, the news became official today when the promotion released
the information to AP:
UFC
co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta told The Associated Press that the
deal with Flash Entertainment, a subsidiary owned by the emirate's
government, was done to create increased value for UFC and help
the mixed martial arts league expand in the Middle East and Asia.
Neither
Fertitta nor Ossama Khoreibi, chairman of Flash, would estimate
UFC's worth or say what Flash paid for the newly issued shares
in Zuffa LLC, its parent company. Fertitta says terms of the
deal are confidential.
Reports
initially surfaced back in October that the UFC was looking for
minority investors:
"We
made the decision early on that if we were to bring on a partner,
it wasn't for financial reasons," Fertitta said. "We
didn't need to raise any money, that wasn't the purpose. If we
were going to bring somebody it was going to be with someone
that could really be a true strategic partner and could help
create an increased value for the company long term."
Flash
is now ahead of Dana White in the ownership pecking order. White
owns nine percent, Flash owns 10 percent while the Fertittas,
Lorenzo and his brother Frank III, each own 40.5 percent.
The
infusion of money also opens speculation that the Fertittas could
use the money as a crutch for their struggling gaming company,
Station Casinos:
Fertitta
would not say what would be done with the money Flash invested
or whether it would stay in UFC. Station Casinos Inc., where
Frank Fertitta is chairman and CEO and Lorenzo Fertitta is vice
chairman, has a pending bankruptcy case in Nevada that is separate
from UFC.
It's
all part of the UFC's plan for global expansion:
"The
sport has incredible potential and the commercial opportunities
were very obvious to us," Khoreibi said.
"We're
building a global brand," Fertitta said. "It's never
been done before in the fight business."
UFC
is rumored to be holding its first fight card in the middle east
on Apr. 10 in Abu Dhabi. Lorenzo Fertitta and White are pictured
with Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, son of former United
Arab Emirates president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
UFC
sells 10 percent to Mideast company
By ARNOLD
M. KNIGHTLY
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
The owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship have sold a
10 percent stake to a Middle Eastern entertainment company to
bolster the mixed-martial arts league’s ability to expand
throughout that region and other areas of the world, UFC’s
owners confirmed Monday.
The
stake in Las Vegas-based Zuffa was by Flash Entertainment, a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi, the capital and second
largest city of the United Arab Emirates and home for the country’s
ruling family. Zuffa, which owns the UFC and its sister league
World Extreme Cagefighting, declined to disclose any financial
terms of the deal.
Zuffa
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lorenzo Fertitta said the
sale will help the company accelerate its international growth
plans because of Flash’s relationships in Asia.
“We’ve
had a lot of growth over the last five years in the United States
and Canada,” Fertitta said. “One of our initiatives
has been to grow this global brand around the world. What they
will allow us to do is grow a lot faster in places like the Middle
East as well as places like Southeast Asia and China and throughout
that region.”
Ossama
Khoreibi, chairman of Flash Entertainment, said his company was
impressed by Zuffa’s commitment to growing the league’s
base.
Additionally,
the partnership could raise Abu Dhabi’s profile as an entertainment
destination, he said.
“This
partnership provides further proof of our company’s bold
ambitions,” Khoreibi said in a statement.
Fertitta
said Zuffa approached Abu Dhabi about seven months ago about
hosing an event in the region.
“Those
talks progressed to where they approached us about making a strategic
investment in the overall company,” Fertitta said.
The
UFC has been on television and pay-per-view in the region.
“We’re
hoping to do an event in Abu Dhabi in 2010,” Fertitta said.
“We’ve had a relationship going on with them for nearly
two years. It’s been one of those situations that has progressed
over time and finally culminated with them making an investment
in the company.”
Abu
Dhabi controls the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund,
estimated between $400 billion and more than $875 billion. The
United Arab Emirates is the world’s third largest oil producer,
according to the Associated Press.
Zuffa
carries $450 million in debt, including a $25 million credit
facility due in 2012 and a $425 million loan due in 2015, according
to a November report issued by Moody’s Investors Service.
Moody’s, however, said Zuffa’s income, which comes
largely from events and pay-per-view receipts, should be sufficent
to make its debt payments.
Moody’s
said Zuffa’s financial outlook is stable with good growth
prospects.
“(Mixed-martial
arts) is among the fastest growing sports today and is well positioned
for advertisers that seek to reach males in the 18 to 34 age
demographic,” Moody’s analyst Neil Begley said in a
Nov. 10 investors’ note. “As a result, revenue growth
is expected to remain strong for the intermediate term.”
Fertitta
said the company “is very sound and very healthy” financially.
Prior
to the new investment, Zuffa was 90 percent owned by Lorenzo
and his brother, Station Casinos CEO Frank Fertitta III. The
remaining 10 percent was owned by Zuffa President Dana White.
The new ownership split was not available.
Contact
reporter Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or
702-477-3893.
Source: Las Vegas Review Journal
|
Flash
Entertainment Acquires 10% of UFC Parent Company
By FCF
Staff
The
Ultimate Fighting Championship has announced today, via its official
site, that the Abu Dhabi based Flash Entertainment has acquired
10% of Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the MMA promotion. No
terms of the agreement were disclosed.
“Over
the past few years, we have built a relationship with all levels
of the Flash organization. They share our vision, passion, and
enthusiasm for the UFC,” Lorenzo J. Fertitta, UFC Chairman
and CEO was quoted saying in the news release. “We are confident
that this partnership will accelerate the worldwide growth of
the UFC.”
Flash
Entertainment is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Emirate of
Abu Dhabi Government; the company promotes various types of shows
throughout the region, including music concerts and sporting
events.
“Since
our very first meeting, we were impressed by Lorenzo, Frank and
Dana’s commitment to growing UFC as a global sport.”
Ossama Khoreibi, Chairman of Flash Entertainment, said in the
announcement. “Flash is equally committed to building Abu
Dhabi’s profile as an international entertainment destination,
and this partnership provides further proof of our company’s
bold ambitions. We look forward to an exciting future ahead,
working closely with our UFC partners to activate this sport
in the UAE, the region and across the world.”
Although
no official announcement has yet been made, there has been recent
widespread speculation and reports that the UFC plans on holding
an event in Abu Dhabi in April.
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
TITLES
ASIDE, WANDERLEI FIGHTS FOR HIS FANS
by Steven
Marrocco
Wanderlei Silva recently traveled to Australia for some public
relations footwork on the UFC’s behalf and found that much
of the work was already done.
UFC
president Dana White cancelled a trip down under in December
because the event had virtually sold out before tickets became
available to the general public. 10,000 fans devoured pre-sale
tickets to the event at Acer Arena. The rest were snatched up
within minutes of going public.
Silva,
who faces Michael Bisping in the main event of UFC 110 in Sydney,
Australia, on Feb. 21, is spearheading a trip into new territory
for the promotion a second time after headlining UFC 99 in Cologne,
Germany, with Rich Franklin.
“It’s
a great honor for me because it’s the first UFC in Australia,
and the guys they are putting on the card,” Silva told MMAWeekly.com.
“This is great for me because I have a lotta friends around
the world. I had the same in Germany, and for me, it’s great
to open the doors for the biggest event in the world.”
Silva
said the 16-hour flight from Las Vegas to Sydney was no big thing.
In his Pride days, he regularly flew from Curitiba, Brazil, to
Saitama, Japan – an 11-hour time difference – and got
used to re-setting his internal clock.
Plus,
the UFC was taking good care of him.
“The
guys give me the nice hotel with good food,” he said. “For
me, this is paradise.”
On
the home front, Silva is continuing a return to his roots, in
a sense, to prepare for Bisping. After splitting with strength
and conditioning coach Rafael Alejarra, he enlisted Rafael Cordero,
his old coach at Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, to lead a camp
for the upcoming fight. Cordero moved to the U.S. last year to
start a Chute Boxe in Los Angeles and re-established contact
with his pupil to prepare for Rich Franklin at UFC 99.
“He’s
my idol before, because he is older than me in the gym,”
Silva said of his former coach. “I go to his city in Brazil
to watch his fights. For a long time, he was the best in the
gym. He fought at 70 kilos. He has incredible Muay Thai, good
jiu-jitsu, good takedowns.
“Sometimes,
the guys have good technique but not a good coach, but him, he’s
a good fighter and a good coach. He understands my style, and
he puts me in good shape for all fights.”
The
former Pride champion has had a rough go of it since returning
to the UFC two years ago, going 1-3 inside the Octagon with a
close decision loss to Franklin at UFC 99, a fight Silva felt
he won.
In
the mid-2000’s, he was one of the most feared fighters on
the planet, with heavy hands and a Blitzkrieg style that defeated
many opponents before they fought.
The
wars he’s waged over the years have taken their toll. In
August, he underwent surgery to repair damage built from a 14-year
career in mixed martial arts, removing scar tissue under his
eyes and opening nasal passages that had been deformed by several
broken noses.
At
this point in his career, he wants to enjoy his work and please
his fans.
“All
fights for me, I see the rope on the neck,” said Silva.
“But no matter, I love the pressure. For me, I fight a long
time in life. I fight because I like it. I fight because I have
a lot of friends around the world that enjoy my fights.”
Initially,
Silva’s opponent for Australia was Japanese superstar Yoshihiro
Akiyama, but in November, the UFC put Bisping into the spot,
sensing a bigger draw. Heavyweights Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
and Cain Velasquez headline the event.
“(Bisping)
is a good opponent,” said Silva. “He’s not afraid
to fight with the stand-up. This is great because I’m not
going to have a performance with him like just hold. I think
him and I are going to have a good match.”
Silva
feels if the title shot comes, so be it. A title is not going
to define his path anymore.
“I
love to make emotion for my fans around the world, and this is
the reason I fight,” he said. “I don’t know if
one day I’m going to fight for the title, but for this moment,
I just enjoy my job. This is my business and my hobby.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
“If
Faber dares stand with him, Junior will tear his head off”
by Carlos
Eduardo Ozório
After having suffered the second loss of his career to Mackens
Semerzier, at WEC 43, Wagnney Fabiano dropped weight to start
from scratch in the bantamweight category of the event. On January
10 in California, he overcame Clint Godfrey via unanimous decision.
In the following chat with GRACIEMAG.com, the Nova União
black belt speaks of possible challenges down the road, against
such beasts as Brian Bowles and Miguel Torres, his difficulty
in losing weight and, of course, the upcoming challenge of his
teammate José Aldo against Urijah Faber. Check it out:
This
new category will bring some new challenges, like against undefeated
champion Brian Bowles and former champion Miguel Torres. What
do you expect as a bantamweight?
There’s
a really good group there, Miguel Torres and Brian, who you mentioned,
and a load of super-tough guys, who are no joke. But it’s
the ones at the top who need to know who’s coming in. They
should be worried about me, not me about them. For now, I’m
just another tough guy in the division, who came out of nowhere.
I don’t have the name they do yet among bantamweights but,
for sure, I’m likely giving them something to think about.
It’s all about training, doing my homework just right for
my next fight. I don’t care who they put me against; I’ll
fight them.
On
the same night you faced Clint Godfrey, Urijah Faber won and
will have a shot at the featherweight belt, against Jose Aldo
Junior. What do you make of that matchup?
I
always said Faber is a tough guy who fights with flare, but does
everything just right. He beat Raphael Assunção,
who’s a really tough guy, and couldn’t do anything
to Faber. He has strong positions, like the guillotine. You have
to be careful with him, but I think when he faces Junior he won’t
match up well. You know why? Because he knows against Junior
he won’t be able to mess around. If he plays around, he’ll
get knocked out. He’ll have to depart from his game and,
thus, he’ll get dropped. He’ll have to try and take
Aldo down. If he dares stand with him, Junior will tear his head
off. So, I’m Jose Aldo all the way.
What
was it like losing so much weight to fight?
It
really was a bit of a sacrifice. I had to do a stricter diet
and not play around with this question of weight, which is rough.
I was a bit worried because last time I was 135 pounds I think
I was a teenager. But it went well. I had a balanced diet and
all was good. I was going to fight either way, that’s the
easy part. I was worried about the weight. Now this is my division.
Will
you try and cut back more now, really keep below the weight you
were at naturally?
For
sure. To make bantamweight now I’ll have to keep myself
a bit lighter. I always was light. I was 71kg and would cut to
66. Next to other people, that’s nothing. There are folks
who drop 15kg. It really is a bit harder now, but I intend keep
a strict diet and maintain my weight at around 67 or 68 kg. I’ll
have to control myself.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Tavares:
“I’m not thinking about the belt”
By Guilherme
Cruz
Recovered from injuries, Thiago Tavares will be back to the most
famous octagon of the world on this Monday, and he’s prepared
to one more challenge. Before the fight with Nik Lentz, the black
belt talked to TATAME about the fight. “I was born ready”,
Thiago guarantee. “I’m well prepared to hit him standing
up… I’ll fight whatever he wants to”. On the chat,
that you check below, Tavares talked about his wish to end 2010
with four more victories on his resume.
How was the preparation for the fight?
The trainings were good, I trained a lot of Muay Thai and boxing,
but I didn’t forget my main area, that’s Jiu-Jitsu,
obviously, but the expectation is to do my game standing up,
to go for it and give my best. If I give my best, I’ll have
the victory for sure.
What do you know about him?
He does a little bit of everything. He trains on the team of
Sean Sherk, Brock Lesnar...His focus is Wrestling, but I think
that he exchanges well standing up, he likes to kick a lot. He
will try to keep the fight standing up… On the last fight
I fought a lot standing up, on the penultimate fight I was hit
by a knockdown, so I think that he’ll try to take advantage
of that and beat me, but I’m well prepared to beat him standing
up… I’ll fight wherever he wants to.
You always give shows on your fights. Who knows a prize for the
best fight happens again?
I never fight thinking about the prize, but, when I fight, people
knows what to wait from me. I never get in thinking about bonus,
I think about the victory, only about the victory. Sometimes,
the victory comes with a bonus, sometimes, even the defeat, but
the important is that I’m doing my work the best way I can
(laugh). The dedication will be given at the most.
And what’s the expectation to this year, after the injuries
in 2009?
My
expectation is to do four fights. I started in January and is
quite possible to do four fights and go on. I came from victory
and go on with four victories will be important, I’ll winning
space. I’m thinking on one fight for time, I’m not
thinking about no f… belt. My aim is Nik Lentz, then another
fight in March and I’ll coming, step by step, up stairs.
Source: Tatame
|
Melvin
Manhoef on fire at ATT
by Carlos Eduardo Ozório
Set to face Robbie Lawler at the next Strikeforce event, on January
30 in Miami, Melvin Manhoef is in the United States, where he
is preparing for the impending challenge.
The
Dutchman is one of the most feared strikers in MMA. Of the 24
wins on his record, 23 have come by way of knockout. His ground
game, however, is one of his weak points. Besides never having
won by submission, four of his six losses have come in this way,
the last against Paulo Filho. In preparing for his next challenge,
Manhoef is working at a place where headway is more than likely,
at the American Top Team, where he can count on teachers of the
caliber of Ricardo Liborio.
One
who had the chance to see Melvin in action at the ATT is Amaury
Bitetti. “I was in the United States dealing with some things
for the upcoming Bitetti Combat show and I watched Melvin training.
I was impressed, the guy’s on fire and should make a name
for himself at Strikeforce,” he told GRACIEMAG.com.
The
upcoming Strikeforce show features two tite challenges, Nick
Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis and Cris Cyborg vs Marloes Coenen.
Check
out the likely card:
Strikeforce
Miami, Florida
January 30, 2010
Nick
Diaz vs Marius Zaromskis
Cristiane “Cyborg” dos Santos vs Marloes Coenen
Robbie Lawler vs Melvin Manhoef
Bobby Lashley vs TBA
Greg Nagy vs Herschel Walker
Preliminaries
Jay Hieron vs Joe Riggs
Pablo Alfonso vs Marcos da Matta
Sabah Homasi vs John Kelly
David Gomez vs Craig Oxley
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"There
is only one failure in life possible, and that is not to be true
to the best one knows."
George Eliot
|
Professional
Boxing Returns.
X1 World Events presents:
The Showdown in Waipahu
Press Conference
Date Jan 15 (Friday)
Time 3pm
Place PF Chang's (Ward)
Weigh
Ins
Date Jan 16 (Saturday)
Time 1pm
Place Waipahu HighGym
X1
World Events
“Showdown in Waipahu”
Waipahu High School Gym, Waipahu, Hawaii
(Part of the Proceeds will benefit the Waipahu High School Athletic
Dept.)
January 17, 2010
Doors Open at 4 p.m. fights at 5 p.m.
Honolulu, HI (USA): This Sunday, January 17th, 2010, X-1 World
Events will bring professional boxing to Waipahu, Hawaii, the
hometown of some of Hawaii’s greatest boxers, such as former
world champion Jesus Salud and current world champion Brian Vilora.
Former King of the Cage Champion and UFC veteran Ronald “The
Machine Gun” Jhun will be making his pro boxing debut against
very tough MMA veteran Chris Cisneros of Hilo, Hawaii. Jhun will
bring heavy hands in his bout against the younger and likely
quicker Cisneros in what is sure to be a crowd-pleasing war.
Also fighting on the card is local favorite and StrikeForce veteran
Harris “The Hitman” Sarmiento. A star in his own right,
Sarmiento will also be making his pro boxing debut. He is a veteran
of many quality fight promotions, including Strikeforce, the
IFL, and King of the Cage, and he already has over sixty pro
MMA fights under his belt. “The Hitman” is looking
to challenge himself, and will tangle with MMA and boxing journeyman
Yancey “The Crazy Mexican” Cuellar of Minnesota. The
weigh-ins will take place live at Waihapu High School, and on
fight day, the doors will open at 4 PM, with the fights starting
at 5 PM. Tickets are available for $30 (presale), and $40 (at
the door), and can be purchased at No Fear Store (Windward Mall
- 808.235-7576), MMA Box (808.489.2660), Razor Concepts (Pearlridge
- 808.485.5007), Fighters Corner (Kalihi - 808.599.4448), Enfuego
Grill (Kapolei - 808.674.8805), 76 Gas Station Waipahu OTM (townside
- 808.591.6620), as well as at http://x1events.com/
The
rest of the card is stacked with action-packed bouts as well.
With nearly 18 years of boxing experience, Minnesota boxing promoter
John Hoffman will square off with local up-and-comer Michael
Balasi. The last time Hawaiian fight fans saw Balasi fight, his
performance brought them to their feet. X-1 is looking to test
Balasi against a much tougher opponent, and show the fans that
he is a serious contender. Local fighter and recent college graduate
Isaac Arasato will also be assessed against a veteran boxer in
Minnesota’s own Daniel Schlienz. Schlienz is coming off
a decision loss to a former world champion, and hopes that this
bout will turn his luck around. Arasato is on a five-fight win
streak, and he is looking to add another notch to his belt come
Saturday night. Also making his pro boxing debut is Chris “Redbull”
Willems of Hilo, Hawaii. Willems is mostly known for his kickboxing
success, and he will be taking on local MMA fighter Ian Dela
Cuesta. In addition, Justin Mercado will be going for his second
pro win when he faces a very tough striker in MMA champion Brandon
Pieper. Pieper will be making his pro boxing debut.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars from Oahu and
the Big Island. Palema Amone and female MMA fighter Lani Fauhiva
are both coming off wins in their last X-1 appearances, and are
looking for the same when they come to Oahu to battle.
“We
are proud to put on an event that will benefit Waipahu High School,
as we are all about giving back to the community,” said
Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “And the
best part is that the fights are going to absolutely tear the
room off the gym!”
Main Card - Pro Boxing
170
lbs. - Ronald Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Cisneros (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - Isaac Arasato (Palolo Boxing) vs. Daniel Schlienz
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Mike Balasi (Kawano Boxing) vs. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
155 lbs. - Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Yancey Cuellar
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Justin Mercado (Team MMAD) vs. Brandon Pieper (808
Fight Factory)
147 lbs. - Ian Dela Cuesta (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Willems
(AP Boxing)
Undercard
- Mixed Bouts
170
lbs. - MMA - Luis Santiago (Freelance) vs. Dirty Curty (Team
Submit)
170 lbs. - MMA - Palema Amone (Average Joes) vs. Tommy Lawhorn
(Team Submit)
145 lbs. - MMA - Petey Vital (Demon MMA) vs. Shawn Burroughs
(Univ. Combat)
150 lbs. - MMA - Lani Fauhiva (Avg Joes) vs. Jessica Tauala (Team
Submit)
175 lbs. - MMA - Joseph Enaena (LMA) vs. Scott Endo (Univ. Combat)
165 lbs. - MMA - Matthew Myers(South MMA) vs Jairus Munoz (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - KB - Chris Mattos (UFS) vs. Travis Costa (Hakuilua)
165 lbs. - KB - TBA vs. Gaylord Balasi (Kawano KB)
135 lbs. - KB - Ola Lum (O2MA) vs. Carlos Lave (Hakuilua)
115 lbs. - KB - Marina Chong(UFS) vs Sally Tolentino(Freelance)
130 lbs. - KB - Maka Benedicto (PFC) vs. Ioane Kim (Hakuilua)
100 lbs. - Pan - Sonja Soon (Avg Joes) vs. Sivada Koulthasen(Team
Submit)
155 lbs. - TT - Royal Kaua (O2MA) vs. John Giron (Hakuilua)
85 lbs. - EX - Alika Augustin (Hakuilua) vs. Charles Naone (Hakuilua)
|
Bob
Shamrock Dies At 68 – Father to Ken & Frank Shamrock
By Heather Foreman
(News Release from Ken Shamrock Incorporated)
January
14th, 2010 – Bob Shamrock, the father of legendary MMA fighters
Ken Shamrock and younger brother Frank Shamrock passed away today
Thursday, Jan 14th at 2pm at the home of his eldest son Ken –
surrounded by friends and family. Ken Shamrock and his wife Tonya
brought Bob to their home on Saturday after a long term battle
with different health complications due to Diabetes - Bob was
68 years old.
Bob
is best known for opening up his home in Susanville, CA to literally
hundreds of defiant and hardcore kids. Ken Shamrock (then Ken
Wayne Nance) was 13 years old when he arrived at the Shamrock
Boys Home in Susanville, CA - Ken at the time was in trouble
with the law for strong armed robbery among other things. At
the time Ken didn't realize that his life was about to change
forever.
"I
just watched Ken's eyes when he first arrived, because this was
my home. It wasn't some business place where I came on from 8
til 5 - it was my home, and the house was really big, we ate
well, we had a swimming pool, and all those kinds of things.
It was a lot different than the other group homes he had been
in." Bob Shamrock
Bob
promoted sports in the community - “We'd have the football
team and their cheerleaders out at the ranch when the season
was over, and the same with the wrestling, baseball and basketball
teams. We tried to get them all interested in outside activities,
and the biggest one was sports. That's what we did with Ken because
he came to me as a fighter. We got him involved in football and
wrestling and if the kids made the team for their class, we'd
get them a gym membership in town. We did lots of activities
to try and keep the kids busy and to provide outlets. That's
the problem with a lot of kids these days: They don't have the
outlets to get their energy out and their aggression down."
Bob Shamrock
One
of Ken’s fondest memories of growing up at the Shamrock
Home was the way his dad had the kids settle their disputes.
If the kids got mad with each other, Bob would let them put on
gloves and box in the backyard to sort things out. The only rule
imposed for these matches was that Bob had to be there at the
time.
"Ken
winded up being the house champion in boxing and wrestling. He
had a way about him that just drew me to him: his own way of
looking at things that was upright and honest. It wasn't always
kosher or exactly right, but that's the way he thought and basically
it was fair. Sometimes you had to show him there was another
side to the story, but he always tried to do the right thing.
By no means was he perfect, but we'd sit down and I could reason
with him."
When
Ken turned 18 in February, 1982, Bob legally adopted him and
Ken changed his last name to Shamrock. Later, Ken's younger brother
Frank also changed his surname to Shamrock out of respect for
the man who had done so much to help him.
“It
is an incredible feeling, knowing that two boys I have done so
much for, have gone on to be world champions in Mixed Martial
Arts." Bob Shamrock
Just
yesterday I sat across from Ken and listened as he began to look
back and think about his dad, “My dad had an unbelievable
light with these kids – I’ve never seen anybody able
to take a defiant kid into their home, and handle them like my
father could - willing to get into a fight with them if he had
to because of disrespect and then turn around and hug them and
let them know, the minute you give me respect – I’ll
give you respect. Everyone that came in contact with my dad –
you could tell he made a difference in their life. I’ve
never seen anyone have that much success with kids. I know he's
with the Lord, but I’ll miss him and I’m forever thankful."
Source: Full Contact Fighter
|
Paul
Daley on Potential Koscheck Fight: 'That Fraggle Is Going to
Get Rocked'
by Ariel
Helwani
Paul
Daley subtly let the cat out of the bag about who his next opponent
will be, as he recently posted on his Facebook page that he was,
"... Ready to kick one Fraggle haired customers a**."
Daley (23-8-2), the hard-hitting British fighter who is now 2-0
inside the Octagon, didn't name names, but most assumed he was
referring to Josh Koscheck (14-4).
MMA
Fighting spoke to the confident Daley about the status of his
fight against Koscheck, why he wants to fight him so badly, and
the continued criticism of his ground game. The full interview
is below.
Ariel
Helwani: I'm assuming you were referring to Josh Koscheck when
you wrote that comment about your next opponent on Facebook,
right?
Paul Daley: Yeah, it's Koscheck. I've said I want Koscheck. I'm
so serious about this -- I want Koscheck. Koscheck isn't asking
for me; I'm waiting for him. He had an injury -- this is his
first time back in the gym this week. I could have taken a different
fight, but I'm waiting for him. I feel like I have something
to prove not only to the UFC but to all the chumps on the Internet
that talk sh*t and say, 'Daley's got no ground game; Daley's
got no takedown defense.' Whatever. I want to see what their
excuse is going to be after I knock Koscheck out.
First,
it's, 'Daley can't fight jiu-jitsu fighters; he's going to get
subbed by Hazelett.' Hazelet gets knocked out. [Prior to that,]
'Kampmann's too much of an all-arounder; Daley's going to lose
by whatever Kampmann wants.' Kampmann gets knocked out. I've
always been proving doubters wrong away from the UFC, and now
it's time to shut a few more mouths up.
Any
updates on the status of the fight?
No updates. We're juggling around a few dates at the moment.
There's a few possibilities: I've heard quite a few things about
April being a possible date in Abu Dhabi, [also] about possibly
doing the first UK Fight Night here over in my hometown in Nottingham.
I've heard May in Canada ... You know, I've heard a lot, but
it's going to happen in the next few months if Fraggle Rock signs.
Do
you have a preference?
I don't mind, man.
You
don't care?
Nope. That Fraggle is definitely going to get rocked.
I
feel compelled to ask your feelings on his hair.
Dude's a fraggle and he should really do something about that.
Seriously. I know a good barber over here in Nottingham, if he
wants me to sort him up.
Why
do you want to fight Koscheck so badly?
Because he's been a contender and he's worked his way back to
being a contender again. I think it's just a fight that shows
that I'm ready to be talked about for a championship title fight.
I've fought the all-arounder Kampmann, I've fought the jiu-jitsu
guy in Hazelett, I'm fighting the high-level wrestler in Koscheck.
I think the only thing that's left is to fight a high-level striker
like Thiago Alves and then a title shot.
So
if you get passed Koscheck, Alves would be next on your checklist,
right?
Or anybody else who is deemed to be a top striker in the division.
I know Fitch has been out in Thailand doing his bit out there,
even though he's got his wrestling background. But I think Alves
is the only striker within title contention that makes sense.
You've got your Chris Lytles, your Marcus Davis, your Amir Sadollahs
-- all great strikers -- but none of them are really being talked
about as a possible future opponent for GSP.
Koscheck
has said some things in the past about your friend and training
partner, Dan Hardy. Is that one of the reasons why you want to
fight him?
Not really. I think Koscheck is just playing up to a character
that he's built and he's just going with it. People didn't like
him to start off, so he was like, 'What the heck, I might as
well ride with that. I'm going to continue to play the bad guy.'
It's doing him good. I think he's a cool guy. I was in the changing
room with him before the Kampmann fight, and he didn't say too
much. I saw him backstage before the Hazelett fight. I said hello,
he said hello. You know, I respect him and I respect what he's
tried to do in order to promote himself, but his time's up.
What
did you think of his performance against Anthony Johnson at UFC
106?
I didn't think the finger went to the eye, but I thought Koscheck
fought a great fight. He switched it up when he wasn't having
much success doing what he was doing. He was unpredictable, and
I think worked out for him.
So
you think he faked the eye injury?
Yeah, of course he faked it. The finger didn't go nowhere near
the eye.
Why
do you think he would do that?
I don't know. I don't know him as a guy. But for me, I've fought
with broken limbs, dislocated joints, you know, blood gushing
out of my head. I think he was looking for an easy night, an
easy pay day. Maybe he didn't train too hard for the fight.
Back
to the your most recent fight, was there anything you did or
didn't do against Hazelett that you weren't happy with?
No, I think I did everything pretty much according to plan. I
was patient; I waited for the right opportunity to strike, and
when I struck, it was devastating. If you ask my coaches in the
UK and Holland, that was my exact game plan.
Some
of said that you didn't deserve the UFC 108 Knockout of the Night
award because you missed weight, and as I'm sure you know, Dana
White said that Anthony Johnson didn't win the award at UFC 104
because he missed weight. How do you respond to that?
It's not the fact that I missed weight. It's the fact that the
doctor didn't allow me to make the weight. I would have made
the weight; the doctor just didn't allow me to do it. So I think
that's the difference between me and Anthony Johnson.
Are
people starting to recognize you more in Nottingham now that
you're doing so well in the UFC?
Yeah and no. The hard core MMA fans, they've always been supportive
of me. Just now my friends and family get to see more of me on
TV, so yeah, it's nice.
A
lot of people believe things will turn out a little differently
for you when you face a top wrestler. Are you just sitting back
and laughing at all of this criticism while you continue to do
will in the UFC?
Yeah, I'm just chilling. I haven't got much to say, you know.
I've got a few good people who are going to be in camp with me
for this fight and I think I got better wrestlers than Koscheck's
working with me and I think that my takedown defense is not as
bad as people think. So it's not a matter of me doing an intensive
three weeks of trying to get better takedown defense because
I have decent takedown defense already. It's just a matter or
working with better fighters and wrestlers who are going to build
my game up. You know, I have great guys with me now: I have Kenny
Johnson, BJ Penn's coach. I have "King Mo," whose coming
over to Holland with me to work out with me. Guys like Gunnar
Nelson are going to be in camp, you know, a Renzo Gracie black
belt and an ADCC fighter. As well as the regular guys at Rough
House and Melvin Manhoef and the guys over at Mike's Gym. So
I have better training than Koscheck with better guys. Koscheck
is just another head for me to take off. It's nothing. Really,
it's nothing. That's the way I look at it. People always mock
my confidence, but I have a funny way of proving people wrong.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
HENDERSON
VS. SHIELDS ON CBS? NOT JUST YET
by Ken
Pishna
Additional reporting by Damon Martin)
It appears that Dan Henderson’s first fight for Strikeforce
is all but a done deal.
Henderson
appeared on Thursday’s edition of ESPN’s MMA Live,
saying, “I’m really excited to be fighting my first
fight in Strikeforce; (it) will be on CBS. It will be at 185
(pounds) against Jake Shields.”
He
also confirmed that the bout would be for the Strikeforce middleweight
title currently around Shields’ waist.
Of
course, there are two sides to every story, er, bout.
While
it appears Henderson is ready to jump on the fight, it is not
yet as final as it sounds.
Shields’
camp told MMAWeekly.com that they hadn’t yet signed Shields’
next fight.
Strikeforce
executive Mike Afromowitz later said, “No. It’s not
singed,” when asked about a Shields vs. Henderson title
bout.
Henderson,
having hit a brick wall in negotiations with the Ultimate Fighting
Championship, signed a four-bout agreement with Strikeforce in
early December.
Willing
to fight either at 205 pounds or 185, it’s been no secret
Henderson would debut on the promotion’s next card under
the watchful eye of CBS in April.
“It’s
not confirmed... (but) on that (April) fight card (on CBS), you’ll
most likely see Fedor fighting Fabricio (Werdum),” Strikeforce
CEO Scott Coker said in late December, before adding, “It’s
not guaranteed, but you will see Dan Henderson fighting on that
card, and Gina Carano, we’ll invite her if she’s ready.”
Speculation
has long centered on a bout with Shields. With Henderson openly
talking about the fight on ESPN, it’s likely that there
are just minor details to be ironed out. The devil is in the
details, and it’s more than likely that the deal will get
done, but as of Thursday afternoon, no pen had yet been put to
paper.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
top 3 mistakes even BJJ Pros make that can ruin your training
One day, a curious teenage daughter asked her mother, “Mommy
why do you always cut off a third of the loaf of bread before
baking it?” “Because that’s what you’re supposed
to do,” responded the mom.
“I
just don’t understand why you can’t bake the whole
thing,” said the young girl. “Well my mother is the
one who taught me this. I’ll just call and ask her to settle
this once and for all,” said mom.
Ring.
Ring. “Hello,” says a voice on the other end. “Hi
mom. It’s me, your daughter. I just wanted to know why you’re
supposed to cut off a third of a loaf before baking it.”
“Oh no sweetie,” her mother chimes. “You’re
not supposed to. I just always did that because our oven was
too small and I couldn’t fit the whole loaf. I wish I didn’t
have to waste all that bread.”
A
training partner passes along an exercise or nutrition tip. Then
you pass it on to several others. Before long the same tip gets
circulated around the whole academy so you figure it must be
true”
It’s
easy to fall into the same trap the mother in the story fell
into with your fitness and BJJ training program. A training partner
passes along an exercise or nutrition tip. Then you pass it on
to several others. Before long the same tip gets circulated around
the whole academy so you figure it must be true. But training
mistakes and half-truths could be stopping you from reaching
your full potential. Here are the Top 3 BJJ Fitness Mistakes
and the Truths that can help save your workout plan.
BJJ
Fitness Mistake #: Kettlebells (or any other tool) are the “secret”
you’ve been waiting for.
Don’t
get me wrong. I really enjoy training with kettlebells. They’re
fun and are effective in many full body lifts. Kettlebell exercises
also help develop grip strength which is crucial for BJJ players.
The
problem occurs when something that is simply a “tool”
becomes the end-all be-all. If someone tells you that their way
of training is the only way to train effectively, run, don’t
walk the other way. Don’t buy into it. This is nothing more
than slick marketing. After all, if their way is the only way
then you have no choice but to buy their product, right?
Check
out this quote that I read on Ross Enamait’s blog that I
couldn’t agree more with:
“Too many people in this world want you to believe that
their way is the only way. Don’t buy into the nonsense.
It simply isn’t true. There have been successful athletes
who have engaged in an infinite number of training styles.
Almost
anything that you do will work if you are passionate, diligent,
and consistent with the work. Often times, it isn’t the
individual workout that is most important, but how you attack
the workout. How much passion and intensity do you apply to the
work?”
BJJ
Fitness Mistake #2- If you want to get better at BJJ, work more
on your strength and conditioning
The
principle of specificity says that in order to get better at
a sport or skill, you must perform that sport or skill. For example,
if your goal is to increase your number of max push ups then
you need to work on push ups. Of course other exercises can supplement
your training but much of your training would need to be focused
around the push up.
The
same goes for martial arts. I’ve been training BJJ for a
long time and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that
the best guys are usually the ones who spend the most time on
the mat. Not everyone’s primary goal is to be a better martial
artist and that’s fine. But whatever your main goal is,
that’s what you should be focusing on.
I
once heard a yoga instructor tell someone who was interested
in getting better at BJJ that they should do less BJJ and more
yoga. I’m afraid if this person would’ve listened to
this advice, the end result would’ve been someone who is
better at yoga, not BJJ.
BJJ
Fitness Mistake #3- Avoid running because it’s not sport
specific
I’ve
seen a few “experts” over the last year or so recommend
that their combat athletes remove running from their training.
They claim that it won’t help with combat sports and the
impact on your joints isn’t worth it.
While
most strength and conditioning coaches aren’t taking such
an extreme stance, many are only having their athletes perform
sprints and no middle or long distance runs. The main problem
I have with this is that aerobic training can help improve recovery
time. Creatine phosphate (a high energy reserve) can be synthesized
better in aerobically trained individuals than their aerobically
challenged counterparts. Therefore some aerobic training can
be beneficial to even a football lineman.
I
do all types of running myself…long distances, hills, sprints,
stairs, you name it. I run different patterns including backwards
and sideways. I try to mix it up and have fun with it. There
are many benefits to different forms of running including the
following:
•
Circulation – Your heart and lungs will improve their efficiency
and deliver nutrients throughout your body more easily.
• Endurance - Even if you are training for a shorter event,
longer runs will help you to have the endurance to handle the
shorter more intense workouts.
• Improved mental state – Running is a great way to
organize your thoughts.
• Mental Toughness - Running is a great way to develop mental
fortitude. Much of the time you’ll be by yourself when running
so it’s up to you to push yourself to go the extra mile.
• Fat loss - Running is an ideal way to burn some extra
fat.
Of
course running should be a part of the overall picture and good
form should be practiced. While there are some fighters that
choose not to run for various reasons, there are many that do.
For a great book about how humans are designed to run, read Born
to Run by Christopher McDougall.
These
are just a few of the mistakes people make in their BJJ fitness
program. Think logically and critically when implementing something
into your training program. Do your homework and find out if
the information is coming from a credible source. Doing a bit
of extra work could help prevent you from making common BJJ fitness
mistakes.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Las
Vegas cooling off for UFC is becoming a pattern
By Zach
Arnold
From
MMA Payout regarding the UFC 108 event on January 2nd —
8,004 paid for $1,969,670, 4,373 papered for $1,005,000.
UFC
106 = 6,631 paid/3,898 comped (63% paid, 37% comped)
UFC 108 = 8,004 paid/4,373 comped (65% paid, 35% comped)
UFC
106 = value of each paid ticket was $450, value of each comp
ticket was $600
UFC 108 = value of each paid ticket was $246, value of each comp
ticket was $230
Let’s
flashback to the UFC 106 numbers last November in LV:
What’s
striking about that number is that Dana White gave out the 10,529
number at the post-fight press conference and given the $3 million
gate, it made some sense that the paid number would be a good
portion of the overall attendance figure. However, 6,631 paid
for a crowd size of 10,529 is the type of number that should
be alarming as far as UFC shows in Las Vegas is concerned.
Even
more disheartening about the MMA Junkie report is while the paid
gate of $3 million is respectable, the face value of the comps
was $2.3 million dollars. Simple math says that the value of
each paid ticket was around $450 and the value of each comp ticket
was close to $600.
The
numbers are alarming for a couple of reasons. Look at the #’s
— the value of tickets paid for at UFC 108 nearly matched
the value of comp tickets given out in freebies. That’s
a very bad equation to have as a promoter in a market. (Click
on the Fight Opinion link from November for further meaning of
the overall picture in Las Vegas.)
In
short, Las Vegas is not only burned out by UFC events but the
ability of the market to regenerate itself in interest is going
to be challenging. Not insurmountable, but business looks ugly
right now in town. And in the numbers up above, I didn’t
even include the numbers from the December 5th show where Kimbo
Slice vs. Houston Alexander struggled to get 1,300 paid.
You
can’t really blame football or other sporting events for
taking away market share from UFC. This situation is right on
their shoulders and they need to figure out a solution so that
2010 doesn’t continue his ugly pattern. The February event
headlined by Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman, however, shouldn’t
ease those concerns any time soon.
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Who
can beat Cristiane “Cyborg”?
The website Middle Easy listed some of the women that could possibly
threat Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos’ Strikeforce
title. Besides that, the website lister the worse nicknames on
MMA, the fights that we’d like to see before the end of
the world in 2012, ten reasons why Fedor Emelianenko x Brock
Lesnar will never happen, and more. Check below some of this
lists:
DREAM FIGHTS UNTIL 2012:
1 – Fedor Emelianenko x Brock Lesnar
2 – Shinya Aoki x BJ Penn
3 – Rashad Evans x Quinton Jackson
4 – Nick Diaz x Joe Riggs
5 – Mariusz Pudzianowski x Bobby Lashley
6 – Tara LaRosa x Megumi Fujii
7 – Seth Petruzelli x Kimbo Slice 2
8 – Roy Jones Jr. x Anderson Silva
9 – Georges St. Pierre x Anderson Silva
10 – Tim Sylvia x Ray Mercer 2
THE WORSE NICKNAMES:
1 – Mike “The Math Librarian" Martelle
2 – Dominic "Mr. International Playa With a Passport"
Ahnee
3 – Jeff “Scary Nickname” Nader
4 – Makoto “Chomolungma 1/2” Maeda
5 – Oriol “Cookie Monster” Gaset
6 – Chan Sung “The Korean Zombie” Jung
7 – Ali “Iraqi Samuray” Ileiwi
8 – Joe “The Gheto Man” Charles
9 – Gabe “The Golden Gremlin” Holmes
10 – Ulysses (Useless) Gomez
EVENTS THAT WE’LL MISS:
1 – Pride FC
2 – Affliction
3 – EliteXC
4 – IFL
5 – Hero’s
6 – Cage Rage
7 – Bodog Fight
8 – Yarennoka!
9 – WFA
10 – CFFC
WOMEN WHO CAN STEAL CYBORG’S TITLE:
1 – Erin Toughill
2 – Gina Carano
3 – Sarah Kaufman
4 – Roxanne Modaferri
5 – Marloes Coenen
6 – Shayna Baszler
7 – Germaine De Randamie
8 – Tara LaRosa
9 – Jennifer Howe
10 – Megumi Fujii
Source: Tatame
|
Dana
White: Mark Coleman Needs a Win More Than Randy Couture
Michael
David Smith is FanHouse's Lead Blogger
The
UFC 109 main event of Randy Couture vs. Mark Coleman is a fight
that would have been a lot better if it had happened 12 years
ago, and the UFC doesn't shy away from that fact in its latest
promotional video, noting that they were supposed to fight at
UFC 17 in 1998 before Couture pulled out with a rib injury.
But
most of the promotional video is looking forward, not backward,
and UFC President Dana White makes an interesting statement.
"Randy
Couture needs this win because he's a fierce competitor and always
likes to win," White says. "But as far as livelihood
and career, Mark Coleman needs this win a lot more than Randy
Couture does."
I
agree with White's reasoning, but I view it exactly the opposite
way: Couture is the one who really needs this win.
Couture
is a huge betting favorite, and everyone is expecting him to
beat Coleman. In fact, most of the fans I hear from are talking
about this fight like it's not even fair, like the UFC is giving
Couture a soft opponent in the hopes that he'll get a big win
that can propel him to a light heavyweight title shot. Coleman,
on the other hand, is viewed as washed up and just hanging on.
That's how he'll continue to be viewed if he loses to Couture,
so he's going into this fight without much to lose.
If
Couture wins, both he and Coleman will continue to be viewed
pretty much the way they are now. But if Coleman wins, that will
radically change fans' perceptions of where Couture is at this
stage in his career. That's why Couture really needs to win.
Source: MMA Fighting
|
JAMES
IRVIN VS. ALESSIO SAKARA AT UFC ON VERSUS
by Damon
Martin
It was announced on MMAWeekly last week that James "Sandman"
Irvin was returning in March, and now he has a date and an opponent.
American Top Team fighter, Alessio Sakara, has been tapped to
face the former WEC champion in a middleweight bout for the UFC
on Versus card on March 21.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
who indicated bout agreements have been issued at this point.
Irvin
returns to action after a lengthy stay away from the sport dealing
with a suspension and several injuries. Now back and healthy,
Irvin is looking to make his move to the middleweight division
for the first time.
Alessio
Sakara, currently riding a 2 fight win streak, makes his 11th
appearance in the Octagion, coming away with 5 victories and
1 no contest.
The
heavy handed Italian striker has been working with American Top
Team to improve his overall game and build upon his devastating
stand-up.
No
official word if the bout will make the televised broadcast,
but with both fighters favoring the stand-up it could be just
the slugfest to get on the show.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Four
questions for Rolles Gracie
by Marcelo
Dunlop
Heavyweight
Rolles Gracie, 31, doesn’t beat around the bush: his UFC
debut, set for February 6 in Las Vegas, is cause for some anxiety.
But it’s good nervousness, as he explains in the following
interview with GRACIEMAG.com.
Rolles
(3w, 0l) speaks about his preparations to face Lebanese fighter
nationalized British Mustafa Al-Turk (6w, 5l), 36, who coincidentally
was born on the same day as the Brazilian, July 14. And he went
out of his way to remark on all the repercussions of his promoting
Rashad Evans to black belt, after his win over Thiago Silva at
UFC 108, on the second of the month.
How
are you dealing with the anxiety in the lead up to your UFC debut?
To
tell you the truth I’m really anxious about this debut.
I’m more anxious in the sense of being stoked; I’ve
received a lot of messages of support on my site, twitter and
facebook.
Have
you been doing anything special in the final stretch of training?
I
have a team of first-rate coaches in Renzo, Greg Jackson, my
boxing teacher mark Henry. Not to mention my uncle Rilion, who,
even though he’s in Miami, is always in contact by phone,
to listen to me and give me advice. They know what they are doing,
and I just go along. So everything is going as planned. Training
is great and my body is keeping up, and thank God I’m injury
free.
The
photo of you giving Rashad Evans his black belt, published on
your twitter and GRACIEMAG.com, yielded some debate. How do you
see the issue?
I
was surprised about all the questioning of the promotion. Truth
is I was really offended. I should never explain anything to
anybody. But on the other hand not everyone has the opportunity
to train at Renzo’s academy with me, with my brothers Igor
and Gregor or even Rashad himself, a tremendous athlete.
He
made the transition from wrestling to Jiu-Jitsu really easily.
We’ve been training together for a year, in New York, New
Mexico, Denver, and I trained him and the guys at The Ultimate
Fighter.
He
likes training in the gi too?
I’ve
never trained with him in the gi. Rashad is a No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu
black belt. Five years ago, I wouldn’t have given him the
belt, but our sport has evolved, so much that the IBJJF put together
a No-Gi championship. If Rashad were to enter any one of these
championships, I would sign him up as a black belt, and I’ll
tell you he’d do great.
He
has a really good top game, passes guard well and it’s really
hard to sweep or submit him, besides him defending well from
the bottom. I feel we saw that in his fight with Thiago Silva,
who was dominated on the ground. If anyone has any questions,
I recommend they have a roll with him and then tell me how it
went.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Quote
of the Day
"He
is rich or poor according to what he is, not according to what
he has."
Henry Ward Beecher
|
“SHOWDOWN
AT WAIPAHU”
TAKES
PLACE THIS SUNDAY
Tickets also available
at O2 Martial Arts Academy until the day of the weigh ins.
Cisneros
vs. Jhun Headlines, Sarmiento Returns
Honolulu,
HI (USA): This Sunday, January 17th, 2010, X-1 World Events will
bring professional boxing to Waipahu, Hawaii, the hometown of
some of Hawaii’s greatest boxers, such as former world champion
Jesus Salud and current world champion Brian Vilora. Former King
of the Cage Champion and UFC veteran Ronald “The Machine
Gun” Jhun will be making his pro boxing debut against very
tough MMA veteran Chris Cisneros of Hilo, Hawaii. Jhun will bring
heavy hands in his bout against the younger and likely quicker
Cisneros in what is sure to be a crowd-pleasing war. Also fighting
on the card is local favorite and StrikeForce veteran Harris
“The Hitman” Sarmiento. A star in his own right, Sarmiento
will also be making his pro boxing debut. He is a veteran of
many quality fight promotions, including Strikeforce, the IFL,
and King of the Cage, and he already has over sixty pro MMA fights
under his belt. “The Hitman” is looking to challenge
himself, and will tangle with MMA and boxing journeyman Yancey
“The Crazy Mexican” Cuellar of Minnesota. The weigh-ins
will take place live at Waihapu High School, and on fight day,
the doors will open at 4 PM, with the fights starting at 5 PM.
Tickets are available for $30 (presale), and $40 (at the door),
and can be purchased at No Fear Store (Windward Mall - 808.235-7576),
MMA Box (808.489.2660), Razor Concepts (Pearlridge - 808.485.5007),
Fighters Corner (Kalihi - 808.599.4448), Enfuego Grill (Kapolei
- 808.674.8805), 76 Gas Station Waipahu OTM (townside - 808.591.6620),
as well as at http://x1events.com/
The
rest of the card is stacked with action-packed bouts as well.
With nearly 18 years of boxing experience, Minnesota boxing promoter
John Hoffman will square off with local up-and-comer Michael
Balasi. The last time Hawaiian fight fans saw Balasi fight, his
performance brought them to their feet. X-1 is looking to test
Balasi against a much tougher opponent, and show the fans that
he is a serious contender. Local fighter and recent college graduate
Isaac Arasato will also be assessed against a veteran boxer in
Minnesota’s own Daniel Schlienz. Schlienz is coming off
a decision loss to a former world champion, and hopes that this
bout will turn his luck around. Arasato is on a five-fight win
streak, and he is looking to add another notch to his belt come
Saturday night. Also making his pro boxing debut is Chris “Redbull”
Willems of Hilo, Hawaii. Willems is mostly known for his kickboxing
success, and he will be taking on local MMA fighter Ian Dela
Cuesta. In addition, Justin Mercado will be going for his second
pro win when he faces a very tough striker in MMA champion Brandon
Pieper. Pieper will be making his pro boxing debut.
The
undercard will feature some talented rising stars from Oahu and
the Big Island. Palema Amone and female MMA fighter Lani Fauhiva
are both coming off wins in their last X-1 appearances, and are
looking for the same when they come to Oahu to battle.
“We
are proud to put on an event that will benefit Waipahu High School,
as we are all about giving back to the community,” said
Mike Miller, Owner/Promoter of X-1 World Events. “And the
best part is that the fights are going to absolutely tear the
room off the gym!”
The
full fight card includes:
Main
Card - Pro Boxing
170
lbs. - Ronald Jhun (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Cisneros (AP
Boxing)
135 lbs. - Isaac Arasato (Palolo Boxing) vs. Daniel Schlienz
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Mike Balasi (Kawano Boxing) vs. John Hoffman (Minnesota)
155 lbs. - Harris Sarmiento (808 Fight Factory) vs. Yancey Cuellar
(Minnesota)
147 lbs. - Justin Mercado (Team MMAD) vs. Brandon Pieper (808
Fight Factory)
147 lbs. - Ian Dela Cuesta (808 Fight Factory) vs. Chris Willems
(AP Boxing)
Undercard
- Mixed Bouts
170 lbs. - MMA - Luis Santiago (Freelance) vs. Dirty Curty (Team
Submit)
170 lbs. - MMA - Palema Amone (Average Joes) vs. Tommy Lawhorn
(Team Submit)
145 lbs. - MMA - Petey Vital (Demon MMA) vs. Shawn Burroughs
(Univ. Combat)
175 lbs. - MMA - Joseph Enaena (LMA) vs. Steve Burroughs (Univ.
Combat)
140
lbs. - MMA - Matt Yandora (South MMA) vs. TBA
150
lbs. - MMA - Lani Fauhiva (Avg Joes) vs. Jessica Tauala (Team
Submit)
165 lbs. - KB - Manu Benedicto (PFC) vs. Gaylord Balasi (Kawano
KB)
135 lbs. - KB - Chris Mattos (UFS) vs. Travis Costa (Hakuilua)
135 lbs. - KB - Ola
Lum (O2MAA)
vs. Carlos Lave (Hakuilua)
130 lbs. - KB - Maka Benedicto (PFC) vs. Ioane Kim (Hakuilua)
100 lbs. - Pan - Sonja Soon (Avg Joes) vs. Sivada Koulthasen
155 lbs. - TT -
Royal Kaua (O2MAA)
vs. John Giron (Hakuilua)
85
lbs. - Alika Augustin (Hakuilua) vs. Charles Naone (Hakuilua)
About
X-1 World Events
Founded
in 2004 by Mike Miller, X-1 World Events is a world-class mixed
martial arts (MMA) promotional company based in Honolulu, HI.
Locally-owned and operated, X-1 delivers exciting live arena-based
entertainment events to fight fans all over the islands. The
events feature some of the MMA world’s most talented fighters,
including UFC, Pride, and Abu-Dhabi veterans such as former UFC
champions Dan “The Beast” Severn and Ricco Rodriguez,
UFC veterans Jeff Monson, Kimo Leopoldo, Chad “The Grinder”
Reiner, “Sugar” Shane Nelson, Brandon Wolff, Wes “The
Project” Sims, Ronald “The Machine Gun” Juhn,
Wesley “Cabbage” Correira, and Falaniko Vitale, as
well as Pride veterans Chris Brennan and Ron “H2O-Man”
Waterman. X-1 World Events can be found online at http://www.x1events.com/
|
UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 20 LIVE RESULTS
The Ultimate Fighting Championship descends upon Virginia for
the first time. Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz headlines UFC Fight
Night 20 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. for the promotion’s
first-ever Monday night event.
The
night’s co-main event features The Ultimate Fighter season
8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero putting his 12-0 record
on the line against the also undefeated Evan Dunham.
Refresh
you broweser for the lastest results and play-by-play.
PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Gray
Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
R1
- Feeling each other out early. Diaz talking. Maynard comes in
with a combination that comes up with air. Diaz using his reach.
Maynard with a right hand. Diaz with a right hand and a leg kick.
Maynard answers with a right left. Maynard bleeding below his
right eye from a previous cut suffered in training. Maynard with
a right handDiaz tries to tie him up. Diaz with two leg kicks
followed by a right hand. Maynard fires back with a right down
the middle. Diaz taunting Maynard and Maynard taunts back. An
all stand up first round. Close round. MMAWeekly.com scores it
10-9 for Maynard.
R2
- Right hand by Maynard. He's loading up on big right hands looking
for a KO. Diaz with a left. Big right hand by Maynard and a shot
ot the body. Maynard with his hands down. a right hand by Diaz
but Maynard counters with a right hand. Diaz goes to his back
but Maynard lets him up. Diaz with a combination but it's Maynard
landing the power shots. Diaz lands a combination and raises
his hands taunting Maynard again. Diaz having some success standing
that round, but MMAWeekly.com scores it 10-9 for Maynard with
the power right hands.
R3
- Maynard bouncing around to start the third. Diaz lands a high
kick but does no damage. Maynard with a right hand. Diaz peppering
with shots from the outside. Diaz using his reach much better
this round. Diaz with jabs as Maynard looks to load up with right
hands. Maynard lands a right hand that has Diaz looking for a
takedown. Maynard came on in the closing seconds, but MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Diaz.
-Gray
Maynard def. Nate Diaz by split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
-Efrain
Escudero vs. Evan Dunham
R1
- Escudero with an outside leg kick. He pushes the pace moving
foward with a combination ending with a kick to the body before
clinching with Dunham. Escudero ties him up but they quickly
separate. Escudero with an uppercut. Flying knee by Escudero.
A right hand by Escudero. He's chasing Dunham and drops him with
a right hand. Dunham gets to guard and works for an arm bar.
Escudero drops down for a guillotine. Dunham back to his feet.
Escudero slips off of a kick. The round ends with Dunham working
to take Escudero's back. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-9
for Escudero.
R2
- Dunham comes in with a flurry to start the round. A kick to
the body and straight left by Dunham. Dunham the aggressor this
round thus far as Escudero plays counter fighter. Straight left
by Dunham. Right hand by Escudero. Dunham goes for a single leg
and gets it. Dunham lands short elbows inside Escudero's half
guard followed by right hands. Dunham takes his back and puts
on a body triangle. The round ends with Dunham on back mount
landing punches. MMAWeekly.com score the round 10-9 for Dunham.
R3
- Escudero works for a guillotine in the opening seconds, but
Dunham gets out. Dunham back to his feet and works for a takedown
and gets it. He lands in side controle and lands two short elbows.
He advances to mount and Escudero gives up his back. He transitions
to a triangle and then takes his arm and tweeks it. It's over.
Dunham submits Escudero.
Evan
Dunham def. Efrain Escudero by submission (arm bar) at 1:59,
R3
-Aaron
Simpson vs. Tom Lawlor
R1
- They exchange but neither land. Lawlor with an uppercut and
then clinches. They separate. Lawlor stuns Simpson with a punch
dn flurries. Simpson rotates out and moves away. Lawlor hurts
Simpson with a counter right hand and tees off on his along the
cage. Lwlor with a knee. Lawlor with a right hand. Simpson's
legs are not under him as he tries to recover. The pace slows
and Simpson regains his composure. Lawlor counter striking. First
round was all Lawlor. MMAWeekly.com scores the first round 10-9
for Lawlor.
R2
- Simpson looks to have recovered and pressing forward in the
opening moments of the round. Simpson clinches and goes for a
single leg and gets the takedown. Lawlor gives up his back trying
to get back to his feet. He's up and turns into Simpson pressing
him against the fence. They separate. Lawlor with a looping right
hand. They're works some dirty boxing in the clinch. Simpson
with punches to the body. Simpson moving forward. Lawlor works
for a standing guillotine. Simspon with a right hand. They clinch
and Lawlor pulls guard while working for a guillotine as the
round ends. MMAWeekly.com scores the round 10-9 for Simpson.
R3
- Simpson comes out aggressive with a right hand and a body kick.
Simpson goes for a double leg but Lawlor defends. Simspon with
a knee from inside the clinch. Simpson with a takedown but Lawlor
immediatly back to his feet where he looks for a takedown and
gets it, but Simpson bounces back up. Lawlor goes for a kimura
and drops down but lets it go. Simpson on top and briefly mounts
and Lawlor gives up his back. Simpson ha both hooks in but Lawlor
is able to get back to his feet where he works for a single leg.
Simpson spins around and gets his back again. They stand with
30 seconds left. They exchange and the round ends. MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Simpson.
Aaron
Simpson def. Tom Lawlor by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
-Amir
Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn
R1
- Sadollah with a push kick and jab to open the fight. Sadollah
working leg kicks. Blackburn with a kick to the body. Sadollah
continues with kicks. They clinch briefly and Blackburn works
the body with a right hand. The crowd chants "lets go Amir."
Blackburn presses Sadollah against the cage but they quickly
separate. Sadollah rocks Blackburn with an uppercut and looks
to finish. He slams Blackburn to the ground but lets him up and
lands a front kick to the face of Blackburn. The round ends with
the fighters tied up. MMAWeekly.com scores it 10-9 for Sadollah.
R2
- They touch gloves and Sadollah back to throwing kicks. Blackburn
answers with a leg kick of his own. Blackburn clinches before
long and works knees to the body along the cage. Blackburn pumping
the jab and Sadollah with more leg kicks. Blackburn ties him
up but they're separated by the ref. Blackburn catches a leg
kick and Amir momentarily is on the canvas. Back to his feet,
Blackburn clinches and lands a right hand as they separate. Sadollah
switching stances and landing kicks. Sadollah with a short right
as the round ends. MMAWeekly.com score the round 10-9 for Sadollah.
Close round two.
R3
- Sadollah with a flying knee that rocks Blackburn. Sadollah
takes him down and works elbows inside Blackburn's half guard.
Blackburn gets back to full guard and recovers. Sadollah advances
to side control. Blackburn gets back to full guard as Sadollah
tried to mount. Sadollah with two right hands and passes to side
control again. Blackburn gets back to half guard and hangs on.
Sadollah unleashes in the final ten seconds with punches to the
body. MMAWeekly.com score the final round 10-9 for Sadollah.
Amir
Sadollah def. Brad Blackburn by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,30-27)
QUICK
RESULTS:
Main
Bouts:
-Gray Maynard def. Nate Diaz by split decision (28-29, 30-27,
29-28)
-Evan Dunhamd def. Efrain Escudero by submission (arm bar) at
1:59, R3
-Aaron Simpson def. Tom Lawlor by split decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28)
-Amir Sadollah def. Brad Blackburn by unanimous decision (30-27,
30-27,30-27)
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Chris Leben def. Jay Silva by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27)
-Rick Story def. Jesse Lennox by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27,
29-28)
-Nik Lentz vs. Thiago Tavares ends in majority draw (28-28, 28-28,
29-27)
-Rory MacDonald def. Mike Guymon by submission (arm bar) at 4:27,
R1
-Rafael dos Anjos def. Kyle Bradley by unanimous decision (30-27
on all cards)
-Gerald Harris def. John Salter by TKO (strikes) at 3:24, R3
-Nick Catone def. Jesse Forbes by split decision ( 28-29, 29-28,
29-28)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
46 FIGHTER SALARIES: FABER IS TOP EARNER
The California State Athletic Commission on Monday released the
salaries for WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson featuring a lightweight
title unification bout between Jamie Varner and Ben Henderson,
which took place on Sunday, Jan. 10, at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento,
Calif.
The
following figures are based on the fighter salary information
that promoters are required by law to submit to the state athletic
commissions, including the winners' bonuses.
Although
mixed martial arts fighters do not have collective bargaining
or a union, the fighters' salaries are still public record, just
as with every other major sport in the United States. Any undisclosed
bonuses that a promoter also pays its fighters, but does not
disclose to the athletic commissions (specifically, pay-per-view
bonuses, fight of the night bonuses, etc.), are not included
in the figures below.
In
the listings below, "Main Event Fighters" are defined
as fighters who compete in the main event of a show. "Main
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose fights appear
on the main card, but not in the main event. "Preliminary
Card Fighters" are defined as fighters whose matches take
place before the main card goes on the air, regardless of whether
or not those matches end up airing on the TV or Internet broadcast.
MAIN
EVENT FIGHTERS:
-Benson
Henderson: $22,000 (includes $11,000 win bonus) def. Jamie Varner:
$18,000
-Urijah
Faber: $52,000 (includes $26,000 win bonus) def. Raphael Assuncao:
$13,000
*Faber received an additional $10,000 bonus for Submission of
the Night
MAIN
CARD FIGHTERS:
-Kamal
Shalorus: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Dave Jansen:
$4,000
-Mike
Brown: $38,000 (includes $19,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Morrison:
$4,000
-Deividas
Taurosevicius: $14,000 (includes $7,000 win bonus) def. Mackens
Semerzier: $4,000
PRELIMINARY
CARD FIGHTERS:
-Charlie
Valencia: $18,000 (includes $9,000 win bonus) def. Akitoshi Tamura:
$8,000
-Wagnney
Fabiano: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Clint Godfrey:
$3,000
-Mark
Hominick: $10,000 (includes $5,000 win bonus) def. Bryan Caraway:
$4,000
-Eddie
Wineland: $8,000 (includes $4,000 win bonus) def. George Roop:
$3,000
-Will
Campuzano: $6,000 (includes $3,000 win bonus) def. Coty "Ox"
Wheeler: $3,000
*Campuzano and Wheeler each also received a $10,000 bonus for
WEC 46 Fight of the Night
WEC
46 TOTAL DISCLOSED FIGHTER SALARIES: $272,000
(Does not include post-fight bonuses.)
Source: MMA Weekly
|
$30,000
BONUS CHECKS FOR UFC FIGHT NIGHT 20
The Ultimate Fighting Championship handed out $30,000 bonus check
for UFC Fight Night 20 in their first Monday night event in Fairfax,
Va to Gerald Harris, Evan Dunham, Aaron Simpson and Tom Lawlor.
Fight
of the night went to Simpson and Lawlor who put on a three round
war. Lawlor had Simpson in a lot of trouble in the first round,
but Simpson switched up his mode of attack and squeaked out a
split decision victory.
The
Knockout of the Night award when to Gerald Harris who had the
only finish by strikes. He TKO’d John Salter in the final
round of their preliminary fight earning him a bonus check.
Submission
of the Night went to undefeated Evan Dunham who handed Efrain
Escudero his first loss. After facing adversity in the first
round, Dunham took over the fight with his ground game and submitted
Escudero in the third round with a transition from the back to
a triangle before securing an arm and forcing Escudero to tap
out from an arm bar.
Total
bonus money for UFC Fight Night 20 was $120,000.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SIMPSON
PLAYS KING TO LAWLOR'S COURT JESTER
Revenge can be a motivating factor in any fight, but for Arizona
Combat Sports fighter Aaron Simpson, he's not letting payback
get in the way of a win this Monday night when he faces Tom Lawlor
at UFC Fight Night 20.
In
July 2009, Lawlor got the best of Simpson's teammate, C.B. Dollaway,
locking on a guillotine choke that left the former Arizona State
wrestler unconscious at just 55 seconds of the first round.
While
Lawlor has never been a fighter to call out or talk down to anybody,
there is still a sense of pride in the wrestling community, and
Simpson, who not only fights beside Dollaway now, served as his
coach in college, knows that a little payback is in order.
"C.B.
even said something, he said he wants me to go and pay him back
for him and take care of business," Simpson told MMAWeekly
Radio recently. "I'm not a revenge type guy, I'm just going
out there and fighting another opponent."
Known
for always having fun before and after his fights, Lawlor is
well liked in the MMA world for his funny antics, but Simpson
isn't worried about being comedic. He’s more than happy
to be the king while Lawlor is the court jester.
"I
know (Ryan) Bader is friends with him kind of. They were on the
show together, and he likes him. I think a lot of people like
Tom. I think he's kind of the funny guy in MMA, and that's fine,"
Simpson commented. "All that stuff's going to be thrown
out the window when it's time to fight, there's no funny inside
the Octagon."
Business
as usual seems to be the strategy for Simpson heading into the
fight. He won't be distracted by entrances or the weigh-ins,
where Lawlor has been known to put on a show. It's all about
the win for Simpson, and that's something he knows the fans will
appreciate.
"He
will get fans and he will have people cheering for him, and that's
great. I'll be the underdog, I'll be whatever, it doesn't matter,"
Simpson said. "Bottom line is getting your hand raised,
and beating someone like Tom Lawlor. He's 6-1. He's a good opponent
for me. He's a tough fighter."
Aaron
Simpson will take his shot at Tom Lawlor Monday night on Spike
TV as the UFC operates its first event from Virginia, and on
a Monday night for the first time in the promotion’s history.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
URIJAH
FABER GETS NEXT SHOT AT JOSE ALDO
Former World Extreme Cagefighting featherweight titleholder Urijah
Faber earned a shot at current champion Jose Aldo’s belt
with his WEC 46 submission win over Raphael Assuncao on Sunday
at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento, Calif.
WEC
General Manager Reed Harris confirmed that Faber would be next
for Aldo during the WEC 46 post-fight press conference, and Faber
wants it to happen sooner than later.
“I’m
hoping it will be fairly quick,” said Faber. “I didn’t
take any injuries against Assuncao and I had a long layoff with
my hands last time.”
Discussing
the match-up with Aldo, Faber likes what he sees.
“He’s
an exciting fighter. It kind of reminds me of the Randy (Couture)
and Vitor Belfort where the phenom with the hands and the crafty
veteran,” commented “The California Kid.” “It’s
funny that I’m the veteran at this point. I’m looking
forward to a knockdown, drag-out with two exciting guys and hopefully
it will happen soon.”
Harris
also confirmed that Faber versus Aldo could headline the WEC’s
first pay-per-view. No venue or date has been set, but Harris
assured the organization is going to do a pay-per-view and Aldo
and Faber would be the likely candidates when they do.
ALDO VS
FABER LIKELY TO HEADLINE WEC PPV IN 2010
Following another successful night of fights for the WEC, the
attention now turns to what's next for the promotion and the
promise of pay-per-view in 2010 still looms large. The organization
may have found its main event on Sunday night as hometown kid
Urijah Faber brought 10,000-plus fans with him to earn a shot
at Jose Aldo's featherweight title later this year.
Speaking
with the media at the post fight press conference, WEC general
mananger Reed Harris said that a featherweight title fight could
very well be the headliner they were looking for on the promotion’s
pay-per-view debut.
"I
would think that as we move towards that, that would be a great
pay-per-view," Harris said when talking about Aldo vs. Faber.
"I think the fans would pay to see that fight."
The
promotion has long talked about making the move, but 2010 has
been guaranteed by several prominent figures in the WEC as the
year pay-per-view becomes a reality. Still, Harris believes they
have to make sure the whole card isn't based on one fight. He
wants to deliver a solid card from top to bottom, something WEC
is garnering a strong reputation for.
"The
other thing we have to look at though is we need to do more than
one good fight on that card," Harris commented. "We
want to put together a card where people are basically saying
they cannot miss it."
He
also didn't rule out the possibility of putting Ben Henderson
on that card as well defending his title against Donald "Cowboy"
Cerrone, after their first fight gained notoriety as a candidate
for Fight of the Year in 2009.
Right
now though, it's the waiting game as the upper brass for the
WEC and Zuffa put all the right pieces to the puzzle in the right
places before making any hasty moves.
"Don't
have a date or location, but I'm going to tell you it's going
to happen," Harris said about the WEC pay-per-view. "We're
looking at the first half of 2010. We're looking at dates, locations,
all that. There's a lot of things that we look at that go into
this, and we want to make sure that our first one is very, very
successful."
One
factor that could almost guarantee success, at least with the
live crowd, is Urijah Faber's involvement in a hometown show
back in Sacramento. The "California Kid" has pulled
in staggering numbers for the promotion each time he heads a
card in his hometown. Harris didn't rule out coming back to ARCO
Arena for the pay-per-view.
"We
haven't talked about that, but I've got to tell you after seeing
the crowd tonight, I don't think it would ever be too soon,"
he commented.
Stay
tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on the WEC pay-per-view
as it becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BRENDAN
SCHAUB VS CHASE GORMLEY ON MARCH 21
The Denver fighters have to happy the UFC is coming back to the
Mile High City. Brendan Schaub, a finalist from last season's
"Ultimate Fighter", will return to action in his home
state to do battle against Chase Gormley in a heavyweight contest
on the card.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com on Monday by sources close
to the fight.
Brendan
Schaub burst onto the scene in 2009 as a training partner of
top UFC heavyweight contender, Shane Carwin, but soon made a
name for himself as a fan favorite on the tenth season of the
"Ultimate Fighter".
Making
it all the way to the finals with impressive finishes along the
way, Schaub got caught in the first round of his finale fight
against eventual champion, Roy Nelson, and suffered the first
loss of his pro career.
Now
ready to bounce back, Schaub will call on his home state fans
for support as he faces Chase Gormley, who makes his second appearance
in the Octagon with this fight.
Previously
undefeated, Gormley suffered the first loss of his career in
his UFC debut in October 2009 when he was submitted by Stefan
Struve in the first round of their bout at UFC 104.
The
two heavyweights will square off in the UFC's first trip back
to Denver since a Fight Night event in April 2008. The card will
also be the promotion's first show on the Versus network since
working a new deal with the cable network just a month ago.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
ELIOT
MARSHALL VS VLADDY MATYUSHENKO IN DENVER
Staying at home for a fight is always a nice feeling, and the
Denver based fighters are starting to fill up the March 21 card
in town. A light heavyweight bout has been confirmed pitting
Denver native, Eliot Marshall, against Vladimir Matyushenko on
the card.
Sources
close to the fight confirmed the bout to MMAWeekly.com on Monday.
Since
leaving the "Ultimate Fighter", Eliot Marshall has
been on a roll, picking up three wins in a row including victories
over Jason Brilz and Vinny Magalhaes. Training with fellow Denver
fighters, Nate Marquardt and Shane Carwin, Marshall looks to
build on that win streak as he returns home to fight for the
first time since 2007 when he competed for the Ring of Fire promotion.
His
opponent, Vladimir Matyushenko, made his return to the Octagon
in September after being away from the promotion for over 6 years.
Picking up a unanimous decision win over Igor Pokrajac got Matyushenko
back on the right track.
Matyushenko
was set to compete at UFC 108 earlier this month, but his opponent,
Steve Cantwell, fell prey to a still unannounced illness that
forced him off the card at the last minute. Due to the timing,
Matyushenko had to be removed from the show as no opponent could
be found in the last hours leading up to the card.
Marshall
and Matyushenko is the 2nd fight confirmed for the Denver card
today, as earlier, another hometown fighter, Duane "Bang
" Ludwig was confirmed as facing Spencer Fisher in a lightweight
bout.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
BANG
LUDWIG VS. SPENCER FISHER SET FOR MARCH 21
There's at least one bout with fireworks written all over it
when the UFC returns to Denver on March 21 as hometown kid, Duane
"Bang" Ludwig returns to action to face Spencer "The
King" Fisher in a lightweight bout confirmed for the promotion's
debut card on Versus.
The
bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight
on Monday.
Taking
a fight on short notice to return to the UFC, Ludwig came up
short in his comeback campaign as he lost to rising 155lb fighter,
Jim Miller, by submission earlier this month. Never one to back
down from a challenge, Ludwig will look to et back on track as
he fights in his hometown, where he has done very well in the
past.
Spencer
Fisher enters the fight coming off of a loss as well, a TKO at
the hands of the surging Joe Stevenson back in October. Specifically
asking for Stevenson for the fight, Fisher struggled to get out
from underneath the powerful grappler and was subdued with elbow
strikes in the 2nd round of their bout.
Prior
to that fight, Fisher had been on a 3-fight win streak.
There
is no word if the bout between Ludwig and Fisher will be on the
televised portion of the card or not.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Quote
of the Day
"Kindness
can become its own motive. We are made kind by being kind."
Eric Hoffer
|
BROWN
BOUNCES BACK, CONTENDERS RISE AT WEC
An early round of fights offered up three contenders that could
vie for title shots in 2010 with Mike Brown leading the way as
he picked up a crucial victory, as did Kamal Shalorus and Deividas
Taurosevicius getting decision wins as well.
The
taste of a loss did not sit well with the former WEC featherweight
champion, Mike Brown, so less than 2 months after his last fight
against Jose Aldo, he returned to winning form with a submission
win over Anthony Morrison on Sunday night.
It
didn't take long for Brown to put Morrison on his back and start
working to improve his position. Morrison tried to lock Brown
up, but no matter what he did, the former champion willed himself
into the mount, before taking his opponent's back.
Brown
immediately slipped his forearm underneath Morrison's chin, forcing
the tap out to the rear naked choke, early in the first round
of the bout to move back into title contention.
"I
just needed a win," Brown said following the fight. "Jose
Aldo is the champ and he's the man. It will be interesting to
see how Faber and Assuncao come out and the winner of that will
probably get Aldo, and maybe I'll get a shot in the future."
It
may not earn him a Gold Gloves title, but Kamal Shalorus threw
bomb after bomb while standing and trading with Dave Jansen,
handing the fighter the first loss of his career.
The
Iranian born fighter winged shots at Jansen's head time and time
again, and while not technically sound, he was definitely throwing
with bad intentions behind every punch. Shalorus also used his
tremendous wrestling background to stuff any of Jansen's takedown
attempts, while hitting a few takedowns of his own.
"I
know Dave Jansen is a good wrestler, but I'm a world class wrestler,"
Shalorus proclaimed following the win.
Moving
to 2-0 in the WEC, Deividas Taurosevicius was able to derail
Mackens Semerzier after the featherweight picked up one of the
biggest upsets of 2009 when he defeated Wagnney Fabiano in his
last fight.
Using
a strong wrestling base and mixing in some ground and pound,
Taurosevicius put Semerzier on his back for the better part of
the first two rounds, left only to defend and try to fend off
strikes from above. Taurosevicius is now 8-1 in his last 9 fights,
and could start gaining contender status in the featherweight
division.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
FABER
SUBMITS ASSUNCAO, TITLE SHOT ON HORIZON
Urijah Faber had a capacity crown on his side at the ARCO Arena
in Sacramento against Raphael Assuncao and “The California
Kid” delivered, finishing the Brazilian by submission in
the final round.
The
opening stanza could have gone either way, but Faber pulled ahead
as the fight went on, dropping Assuncao with right hands in both
the second and third rounds.
The
end came after a right hand sent Assuncao to the canvas, and
as the Brazilian worked his way back to his feet, Faber took
his back and slipped in a rear naked choke forcing the 27-year-old
to tap out.
With
the win Faber will likely get a shot at Jose Aldo’s crown.
“I’m
ready to get that belt,” Faber told the hometown crowd.
“We have a great champion right now. Jose Aldo is a phenom.
He’s talented and he’s creative. I’d love to get
in there and get that belt.”
Following
the fight Aldo entered the cage and accepted the challenge. “I
respect Urijah, but no one’s going to take my belt,”
said the champion.
Faber
got the last word in, saying, “I’ve got to bring my
A-game. Like I said, he’s a tough guy, but in my mind that’s
my belt.”
Source: MMA Weekly
|
HENDERSON
SUBMITS VARNER TO UNIFY TITLES
"Do you want a revolution?"
That
was the anthem echoing in the Arco Arena on Sunday night as Ben
Henderson walked to the cage, and less than three rounds later
it came to be a reality as he solidified himself as the undisputed
WEC lightweight champion with a submission win over former 155lb
king, Jamie Varner.
It's
tough to realize that Ben Henderson has only been fighting for
a couple of years, but in that time he's shown tremendous heart
and the ability to stick around in any fight he's a part of.
It
showed once again on Sunday night as he struggled through a tough
first round against Jamie Varner, who came out strong putting
Henderson on his back, and locking on a tight guillotine choke.
As usual though, Henderson battled out of the hold and lived
to fight another round.
Firing
some stiff body kicks, Henderson started to land with more regularity
in the 2nd round as Varner magically changed his gameplan and
started to strike exclusively. The fighters each traded a few
hard shots, with neither gaining the upper hand.
The
pace slowed down early, but the end came as quick as a lighting
strike as Varner put his head down when the fighters clinched,
and Henderson immediately saw his opening. The Arizona based
fighter snatched onto Varner's neck like a pitbull, and jumped
into guard, pulling for all he was worth.
Knowing
that he was either getting choked out or tapped out, Varner chose
to go out conscious, and fell pray to the submission, handing
Ben Henderson the undisputed WEC lightweight championship.
"Jamie
Varner's a tough scary looking dude, I was a little intimidated
at first," Henderson admitted following the title win. "He
wants to hurt me, such hostility. Thankfully, I came out on top."
A
fighter who has shown class and humility in all of his performances,
Henderson once again carried himself with the grace of a true
champion giving praises to Varner and his last opponent, Donald
"Cowboy" Cerrone, as well.
The
former champion didn't go out so gracefully.
"I
came to fight, Ben came to grapple," Varner said as the
Sacramento crowd let him know how they felt about his comments.
Grappling
obviously won out as Henderson secured his 4th victory in the
WEC, and will now go on to defend the WEC lightweight title against
any and all challengers.
"Whoever
the WEC says, whoever Sean Shelby, whoever Reed Harris, whoever
they say," said Henderson. "Let's dance."
Source: MMA Weekly
|
SACRAMENTO
CROWD SHOWS UP AGAIN FOR WEC
There is no doubt that Sacramento loves the WEC, and they definitely
come out to support the fighters and their hometown favorite,
Urijah Faber, as the numbers prove coming out of Sunday night's
show.
With
10,027 fans in attendance, the Sacramento crowd was loud and
let their voices be heard in every, single fight.
The
gate for the show pulled in $550,000, which is once again an
impressive showing for the WEC in Sacramento. Faber's drawing
power in his hometown can't be denied after looking at the numbers
he's pulled in for his last two fights in California's capitol
city.
The
last Faber fight in Sac-Town pulled in a gate of $815,415 when
he took on Mike Brown in a rematch for the WEC featherweight
title. With the hometown kid now next in line for a shot at Jose
Aldo's 145lb title, that fight will be a guaranteed seller, and
could even be the promotion's main event when the go to pay-per-view
later this year.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
HANDS OUT $10,000 BONUS CHECKS FOR WEC 46
World Extreme Cagefighting handed out $10,000 fighter bonus checks
for WEC 46 to Urijah Faber, Will Compuzano and Coty Wheeler.
Fight
of the Night was the first preliminary bout between Will Compuzano
and Coty Wheeler who set the tone for the rest of the evening.
It was an action packed bout with Compuzano taking control as
the fight wore on, winning by unanimous decision.
Submission
of the Night went to former WEC featherweight titleholder Urijah
Faber who submitted Raphael Assuncao in the third round by rear
naked choke earning himself a shot at Jose Aldo’s belt.
There
was no Knockout of the Night award due to no knockouts. Total
about of bonus money given out was $30,000.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
The
danger of the post training pains
It’s
common to see athletes complaining about muscular pains after
or even before some trainings. But what do cause these pains?
Maybe be physical or technical, and we’ll talk about that
on a little article about the Muscular Pain with Delay.
After
a while without training, after a exhaustive exercise or a new
physical activity, it may appear that pain considered normal.
But it isn’t. Pain is never normal! To this pain we call
Muscular Pain with Delay.
It
happens because of really small muscular injuries that may happen
after exercises of muscular contraction or strenghtning. The
exercises that provoke MPD are unusual and provoke mechanical
overcharge. To say that MPD is related to accumulation of lactic
acid is unfounded.
MPD
is not related to get tired too. It appears after a few hours
and gets intensive between 24 and 48 hours after the physical
activity. Meanwhile, the muscle lose his capacity to stand tensions
and the exercise charge must be smaller. That’s why is so
important to rest, because we can’t forget that a good rest,
most of times, is better than a bad training.
Source: Tatame
|
Ron
Foster
Shine
Fight’s matchmaker, Ron Foster spoke to TATAME.com about
the upcoming event, rumored to take place in Miami on March,
the cast of Brazilians with contract on the organization, the
possibility of bringing the event to Brazil and more. Check below
the exclusive interview.
How’s
the expectation for the next event?
The
expectation for Shine 3 is very high! We are growing very fast
and are trying to put on the best fights that we possibly can.
The next card will be stacked from top to bottom it will be amazing!
You
hired a lot of Brazilians to the events. Why you decided to do
that?
We
signed a lot of the top unsigned Brazilians, but we are also
working with fighters from China, Russia, Japan, UK and of course
here in the U.S. We just want the best fighters that we can get
from all over the world. Brazil has so many great fighters and
ledges of the sport it is impossible to mention MMA and not think
of Brazilian fighters.
Who
are the Brazilians that signed with you to 2010?
Here
are just a few that we have signed: Murilo Rua, Luciano Azevedo,
Luis Azeredo, Junior Assuncao, Eduardo Pamplona, Luis Santos,
Givanildo Santana, Alexandre Ferreira, Thiago Meller, Amilcar
Alves and more.
You
have some great talents with you, such as Alexandre Ferreira,
Murilo Ninja and Hector Lombard. What are you waiting or their
fights?
Ninja
vs Niko Vitale is going to be one of the best fights of the new
year I can't wait to see that! And bringing Cacareco back to
the state to fight top level competition will show everyone that
he is one of the top middle weights in the world, and Luciano
Azerevedo is the only fighter to hold a victory over #1 ranked
fighter Jose Aldo, I'm very excited about the amount of talent
that Shine is bringing to the table fans who tune in will not
be disappointed.
What’s
the fight you’re looking forward to see most?
All
of the fight will be so good its really hard to pick one fight!
I can't wait for Shine 3!
What
else are you planning for 2010?
Yes
we do have a date and location which I will be release at the
start of 2010, as far as the rest of the year we are planning
to have 4-6 event.
How
do you see the MMA growth around the world?
MMA
is the fastest growing sport in the world. In my opinion it has
began to even top boxing and that is why you are now seeing athletes
from other sports trying there hand in MMA, In the next 5 to
10 years MMA will be just as main stream as boxing or basket
ball and you will see more elite athletes coming to MMA, as a
matter of fact Ricardo Mayorga former 3x boxing champion will
make his MMA debut on SHINE 3. This will be a fight you don't
want to miss!
Do
you plan doing an event here in Brazil?
Of
course coming to Brazil is a goal that we are working on as we
speak. I have great friend from Brazil that have open there doors
to us, guys like Alex Davis, Jorge Guimaraes and Eduardo Alonso
have very helpful in working to get Shine to Brazil. I think
before the end of 2010 we will have a show in Brazil.
Source: Tatame
|
Faber
easily wins first fight back since June
In
his last bout, former WEC featherweight champion Urijah Faber
broke one hand and dislocated the other. On the same night that
Mike Brown -- his opponent in June -- had a comeback win, Faber
did the same.
In
front of a hometown crowd in Sacramento, Faber showed his hands
were just fine, winning decisively with a third-round rear-naked
choke of Raphael Assuncao.
Assuncao
had a strong first round, but Faber came roaring back in the
second round. He was effective with strikes and on the ground.
In
the third, Faber smothered Assuncao, landing strikes and elbows
from the top position. Assuncao gave up his back, and Faber took
full advantage, locking in a tight rear-naked choke. That choke
won Faber a $10,000 submission of the night bonus.
With
this win, Faber is likely to get a shot at Jose Aldo and the
featherweight title. Aldo came into the cage and told Faber and
the crowd, "I respect Urijah, but no one is going to take
my belt." Faber, who held the featherweight belt for two
years, gave a response was simple and direct.
"In
my mind, that's always been my belt."
Source: Yahoo Sports
|
Quote
of the Day
"It
is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked,
through understanding."
Kahlil
Gibran
|
Fighters'
Club TV Tonight!
Channel
52
8:00 PM!
If
you are not on the Onzuka.com Hawaii Ground forum, you are missing
the latest news from upcoming events, get to rub elbows with
numerous promoters and fighters, and get to voice your opinion
on any subject you can dream up. Hit the links above to sign
up for a free account and start posting away!
|
MARCUS
DAVIS VS JONATHAN GOULET LIKELY FOR UFC 113
As the cards start filling up to open 2010, another match-up
has been added to the UFC's return trip to Montreal as Marcus
Davis looks to bounce back from two tough losses against Canadian,
Jonathan Goulet, who returns for the first time since Dec 2008.
The
bout was first reported by MMAFighting, and confirmed independently
by MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight who indicated
the bout has been agreed upon, but no bout agreements issued
at this point.
After
rocketing up the welterweight division with 6 wins in a row,
Marcus Davis, has fallen on tougher times of late going 2-3 in
his last 5 bouts. The most recent loss was a devastating KO resulting
from knee strikes at the hands of American Top Teamer, Ben Saunders.
Training
out of his home state of Maine as well as Mark Dellagrotte's
Sityodtong academy in Massachusetts, Davis hopes to re-establish
himself in the growing welterweight division.
Always
well respected as a tough fighter, Jonathan Goulet, hopes 2010
treats him better than 2009 did. Scheduled for a few different
fights last year, injuries subdued the Canadian for the entire
year and he hopes to stay healthy has he heads for a May showdown
in his home country.
The
bout is expected to be featured on the night's undercard which
will lead up to the main event of the night pitting Lyoto Machida
against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a 205lb title fight
rematch.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
46 LIVE RESULTS, PLAY-BY-PLAY AND PHOTOS
MMAWeekly.com is on location from the ARCO Arena in Sacramento,
Calif. for WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson bringing you live results,
play-by-play and photos in real time.
The
main event is a title unification bout between champion Jamie
Varner and interim titleholder Ben Henderson. Hometown hero Urijah
Faber also makes his return from injury in a virtual number one
contender match with Raphael Assuncao.
WEC
46 main card airs live on Versus in the United States at 9:00
PM (ET) / 6:00 PM (PT). The first preliminary bout is scheduled
to begin at 3:30 PM (PT). Refresh you browser often for the latest
event coverage.
WEC
46 PLAY-BY-PLAY:
-Jamie
Varner vs. Ben Henderson
R1
– They take their time finding range, but Varner strikes
first, scoring a takedown. Henderson immediately goes for Varner’s
leg though. He gives it up and Varner locks up north-south position,
putting on a guillotine choke that looks deep. They stand and
Varner delivers a knee to the head, still maintaining control
of the head. Henderson drops down to a knee to take away Varner’s
ability to throw knees to his head. Varner shifts to throwing
knees to the legs and body of Henderson. The action slows and
Herb Dean stands them up. Henderson lands a kick to the body,
Varner backs off reaching for his eye, and Henderson charges
him. But Varner switches position and has Henderson on his knees,
pushed up against the cage. Henderson gets up and they’re
clinched, trading knees to the body and legs. They separate just
before the bell and Henderson lands a forearm to Varner’s
head.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jamie Varner.
R2
– Henderson starts the round with a leg kick. Varner jumps
in with a knee and they clinch. They separate and Henderson lands
another leg kick. Varner does a nice feint with a punch, landing
a head kick. Varner lands a short flurry of punches, Henderson
returns fire with a leg kick. Henderson charges with a flurry
ending in a side kick and punches, but gets pushed to the ground.
Right back up, they start searching for a shot. Varner charges
Henderson against the fence and they start exchanging knees.
Henderson lands a good body kick and knee to the body just before
the bell. Varner’s size is proving difficult for Henderson.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Jamie Varner.
R3
– They start off trading, but Varner quickly clinches and
back Henderson to the fence. Varner separates and lands a hard
left hook on the break. Henderson throwing kicks to the body,
but they are mostly blocked. Varner charges in to take Henderson
down with a double-leg, but Henderson jumps to a guillotine choke.
Varner immediately taps out.
Ben
Henderson is the undisputed WEC lightweight champion!
Ben
Henderson def. Jamie Varner by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 2:41, R3
-Urijah
Faber vs. Raphael Assuncao
R1
– Faber charges, lands a leg kick, but eats a right hand.
They clinch on the fence. They separate and are back in the center
of the cage. Faber charges, but they end up clinched on the fence
again. Assuncao lands a good punch as they separate, and a small
flurry as Faber clinches up. They separate and go back to center
cage where Faber lands a couple good shots, but Assuncao kicks
his legs out from under him. Faber is back up and they clinch
up against the fence again. Faber separates and lands a forearm,
but eats a punch combination. Back to center cage. Faber comes
jumping in, but Assuncao catches him with a counter punch.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Raphael Assuncao.
R2
– Faber scores a single leg, and then a punch from standing
in Assuncao’s guard. Assuncao pulls him down into guard.
They’re trading blows on the ground, but Faber is in the
favorable position. Assuncao tries to get up and Faber catches
him in a choke, but Assuncao deftly defends and they work back
to the feet. Assuncao lands a knee as the get upright, follows
with a kick to the body and a punch combination. Faber landing
some good single shot strikes, but not turning them into combinations.
He drops Assuncao with an overhand right as the Brazilian moves
in, then dives down into Assuncao’s guard, punishing him
with forearms. The crowd loudly chanting, “Faber! Faber!
Faber!” Assuncao briefly fires back, but again, Faber has
the better position to throw powerful strikes. Assuncao searching
for a submission, but Faber throwing down heavy strikes. They
finish the round with Assuncao trying to get to his feet, but
Faber not allowing it.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Urijah Faber.
R3
– (A thunder stomp in the crowd as the round starts) Faber
gets an early takedown, but they’re right back to their
feet. Assuncao shoots for the single, but Faber defends and delivers
an elbow. They separate and start trading again, Faber connecting
with an overhand right. Faber lands a push kick, but Assuncao
kicks his leg out in counter, but then Faber drops Assuncao with
a perfectly timed right hand. The crowd explodes! He drops down
into Assuncao’s guard, starting his ground and pound assault.
Assuncao tries to stand, Faber takes his back, sinking in a rear
naked choke. Assuncao taps! The crowd in Sac-Town is deafening!!
Urijah
Faber def. Raphael Assuncao by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 3:49, R3
-Dave
Jansen vs. Kamal Shalorus
R1
– Jansen and Shalorus come out swinging, Shalorus getting
the better of the earlier exchanges with a heavy right hand.
Midway through the round, Jansen leaps in with an uppercut, trying
to set up a takedown, but Shalorus defends well. Jansen comes
in swinging and Shalorus takes him down briefly, they get back
up and Shalorus lands a few hard shots, leaving Jansen looking
a little shaky. Shalorus is provig to be the more accurate and
heavy-handed striker of the two, the wear and tear starting to
show on Jansen’s face. They exchange again and Shalorus
drops Jansen to his knees, but the wrestler guts it out and quickly
stands back up to finish the round.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Kamal Shalorus.
R2
– They start off without skipping a beat, trading punches.
Shalorus still looks to be the stronger of the two, Jansen mostly
searching for an opening now. Jansen tries a kick, but eats a
counter left jab. Shalorus follows up with some hard combinations.
He’s slowing down a bit, but Shalorus is still out-striking
Jansen. Shalorus then scores a takedown, but Jansen is back on
his feet right away and lands a knee to the body. Jansen lands
her first solid offensive attack, clubbing Shalorus down to his
knees. But he’s back up immediately and they start trading
blows again. Jansen has much more bounce in his step than Shalorus
now, who is mostly flat-footed. Jansen attempts a takedown to
close the round, but gets stuffed.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Kamal Shalorus.
R3
– Shalorus lands an overhand right that stuns Jansen momentarily.
Jansen lands a knee to the body and follows with a kick to the
body, but gets dropped with a counter right hand. He’s right
back up, trading blows, though. Shalorus lands a couple hard
jabs and follows with a low kick that staggers Jansen. It almost
seems to have deflated Jansen. Shalorus is digging deep at this
point to, but scoops a single leg and takes Jansen down. They’re
quickly back up trading blows. Jansen attempts a takedown, but
doesn’t get it. With little more than a minute left, Shalorus
again scores the single leg takedown. He finishes the round outwrestling
Jansen.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Kamal Shalorus.
Kamal
Shalorus def. Dave Jansen by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
29-28), R3
-Mike
Brown vs. Anthony Morrison
R1
– Morrison opens, kicking away at the legs and body of Brown.
Brown clinches and wrestles Morrison to the mat, puts him in
a crucifix position, and starts hammering away. Morrison escapes,
but Brown quickly reverses, takes mount, and then Morrison’s
back, locking on a fight-ending rear naked choke.
Mike
Brown def. Anthony Morrison by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 1:54, R1
-Mackens
Semerzier vs. Deividas Taurosevicius
R1
– Taurosevicius throws one punch and shoots, eventually
scooping Semerzier and throwing him to the mat. He drops down
into Semerzier’s guard and quickly passes to side control,
starting a ground and pound attack. Semerzier locks on, but they
stand up and separate. Taurosevicius again goes for the takedown,
but Semerzier locks on a guillotine choke. Taurosevicius escapes
when they hit the mat, but Semerzier locks on full guard. The
pace slows and they are stood up. Taurosevicius quickly shoots
again, but they end up clinched on the cage.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Deividas Taurosevicius
R2
– Semerzier opens with a strong left leg kick. He’s
pushing the pace more, trying to get his striking going. He lands
a head kick and attempts a knee, but gets caught and tossed to
the ground. Semerzier is quickly back up, tossed down again,
and then back up, clinched from behind. Taurosevicius takes him
down again, but nearly gets caught in a triangle, then omo plata.
Taurosevicius dives back into Semerzier’s guard, eating
an up-kick on the way in. Taurosevicius starts pounding away
with some heavy forearms and hammerfists, and finishes out the
round on top.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Deividas Taurosevicius
R3
– Good overhand right by Semerzier, followed by a thunderous
body kick. He goes high with a kick, but Taurosevicius catches
it. Semerzier won’t go down though, nearly securing a guillotine
choke. They clinch and exchange knees to the body, separate,
and then Taurosevicius shoots again. Semerzier defends and nearly
secures a Kimura shoulder lock, but Taurosevicius secures a leg
and nearly gets what appears to be a kneebar. Semerzier gets
up to his feet and starts dropping down hammerfists and punches,
landing some good body shots. He drops down with a flurry of
hammerfists, nearly passes to side before getting put back in
guard. He then passes to side control. Taurosevicius gets out
of side control, but gets caught in a deep guillotine choke.
He pops his head out and works briefly from top position in Semerzier’s
full guard as the round ends.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Mackens Semerzier
Deividas
Taurosevicius def. Mackens Semerzier by Unanimous Decision (29-28,
29-28, 29-28), R3
-Akitoshi
Tamura vs. Charlie Valencia
R1
– Both fighters come out slinging kicks, Valencia with more
zip and zest. Valencia counters kick with a good punch combination
followed by a knee to the body two minutes into the round, then
they’re quickly back to trading kicks again and Valencia
takes a shot to the groin. Time is called for him to recover.
Back at it, Valencia is a ball of fire, gunning for Tamura’s
head with a kick and punch combination. Tamura drags him down,
locking on a triangle choke as they get to the mat. It appears
tight, but Valencia is defending as Tamura drives elbows into
his skull. Valencia picks Tamura up and slams his way out of
the triangle, then unloads a flurry of bombastic punches just
before the round ends.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Akitoshi Tamura.
R2
– They start trading kicks again, although at a much slower
pace than the first round. Tamura clinches, to Valencia’s
back, climbing on and locking on a body triangle. He’s going
for the choke, but Valencia is still standing, leaning against
the cage and defending the choke. Tamura is continually punching
and trying to angle an arm in under Valencia’s neck, but
Valencia is doing just as well defending. With 30 seconds left
in the round, Tamura appears to have secured the choke, Valencia
dropping to his knees, but not submitting, riding it out to the
bell.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Akitoshi Tamura.
R3
– They start off again trading blows, but this time Valenica
is punching more and finding his mark. Valencia lands a decent
body kick, then follows with a right hand to the body. He lands
a punch combination to the head that downs Tamura, follows him
to the mat, but can’t finish. Tamura gets back up, firing
back at Valencia. Valencia lands a stinging jab that snaps Tamura’s
head back, but they continue trading blows. Valencia wings a
looping right hook to the body and follows with an overhand right.
Tamura gutting it out, trying to find some offense. Valencia
finishes the round with strong body work and a flurry of punches.
MMAWeekly.com
scores the round 10-9 for Charlie Valencia.
Charlie
Valencia def. Akitoshi Tamura by Split Decision (29-28, 28-29,
29-28), R3
-Wagnney
Fabiano vs. Clint Godfrey
R1
– Godfrey looks anxious, Fabiano almost lethargic. Godfrey
shoots, but Fabiano sprawls out, puts Godfrey on his back, and
quickly moves to a half guard/mount. Godfrey fights frantically
to maintain half guard, not allowing Fabiano to pass to full
mount. Fabiano stands and dives down, trying to get the mount,
but Godfrey manages to keep putting Fabiano into half guard.
Fabiano manages full guard as the 10-seconds-left clacker sounds,
but can’t do anything with it as the round ends.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Wagnney Fabiano.
R2
– Fabiano lands a couple solid right, Godfrey shoots, and
then gets clinched and tossed for his efforts. Fabiano traps
Godfrey’s right arm with his legs and starts pounding away
at his face, but somehow Godfrey manages to reverse position
into Fabiano’s full guard. Fabiano quickly counters, taking
top position and passing to full mount. Fabiano intermittently
drops down a forearm, but seems to be trying to set up a submission.
After a couple of minutes, Godfrey manages to put him back into
full guard then referee Herb Dean stands them up. Fabiano shoots
with 30 seconds left in the round, but Godfrey defends as they
ride out the round.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Wagnney Fabiano.
R3
– the fight hits the mat early, Godfrey locking on a guillotine
choke, but Fabiano has an arm in, not in any real trouble. He
escapes and takes a half guard/mount position. Fabiano moves
briefly to full mount, dropping down a few punches, but quickly
gets put back in half guard. Referee Herb Dean stands them up.
Godfrey shoots, Fabiano going down to all fours, and then back
up, Fabiano trying to take Godfrey down. They scramble, Fabiano
landing in half mount, throwing shots to the body that aren’t
doing any damage.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Wagnney Fabiano.
Wagnney
Fabiano def. Clint Godfrey by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27), R3
-Mark
Hominick vs. Brian Caraway
R1
– After a brief feeling out process, Caraway shoots a double-leg
takedown and puts Hominick on his back, immediately looking to
pass guard, but Hominick defends well with his butterfly guard.
Caraway changes tactics, standing in guard and dropping down
right hands, more than a few finding their mark. Caraway continued
to attack, but Hominick attempted a sweep, which Caraway defended,
but he left his arm in and Hominick latched on for the fight
ending armbar.
Mark
Hominick def. Brian Caraway by Submission (Armbar) at 3:48, R1
-George
Roop vs. Eddie Wineland
R1
– Roop obviously has the height and reach advantage, but
Wineland consistently cuts away at the reach with his ducking
overhand right, a couple of which rocked Roop, sending him staggering
backwards. Roop is searching for an opening, but Wineland is
doing a good job staying out of range, moving in at opportune
moments, consistently landing the overhand right. Roop lands
a couple low kicks, but nice Ali-esque head movement from Wineland.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Wineland.
R2
– Roop keeps trying to find his range, but Wineland keeps
bobbing and weaving, throwing terrific counter punches that are
landing. Wineland’s speed is visibly wearing on Roop. Roop
tries a spinning kick combination that misses, then eats a hard
right hand from Wineland for his trouble. Still moving well defensively,
Wineland seems to be missing a lot in the second half of the
round, but Roop isn’t landing much either, his mouth agape.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Wineland.
R3
– Still showing good head movement, Wineland tries to establish
his jab, but can’t really get it going and goes back to
the overhand rights, missing with most, but then lands a straight
right that drops Roop. Roop quickly recovers and gets back to
his feet, Wineland chasing him. Roop throws a knee that doesn’t
really land, but it slows Wineland down. They’re back in
center ring, trading punches, but most of them are missing their
mark. Both continue searching for that one big shot, but can’t
find it as the round closes out.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Wineland.
Eddie
Wineland def. George Roop by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27,
30-27), R3
-Will
Campuzano vs. Coty Wheeler
R1
– Wheeler shoots early, but Campuzano sprawls out. Campuzano
is holding center ring, looking comfortable, finding the range
with his hands. Wheeler is moving in and out with low kicks.
Wheeler keeps moving in, but is eating some hard punch combinations.
Campuzano launches a flying knee, but Wheeler catches him with
a punch to the body in mid-air. Campuzano keeps coming with jumping
knees, but Wheeler catches one and takes him down, but misses
with the leg lock. They get back to their feet and start trading,
but Campuzano still seems to be landing the more accurate and
harder shots. Wheeler appears to be bleeding from the bridge
of his nose. Wheeler catches another kicks as the round is winding
down, but eats several shots to face before going to his back.
Campuzano lands some brutal ground and pound before the bell
sounds.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-9 for Campuzano.
R2
– The round starts off with a kick to the groin by Wheeler.
The referee calls time for Campuzano to recover. Wheeler misses
with a spinning backfist, but lands a couple knees to the body.
They clinch up and Wheeler jumps to a guillotine choke, pulling
Campuzano to the ground. Campuzano remains composed and escapes,
immediately landing some hard ground and pound shots before allowing
Wheeler to stand back up. Wheeler lands a hard low kick that
moves Campuzano and follows with a right hand. He misses with
a spinning back kick and Campuzano takes him down, landing a
brutal right hand then following with another ground and pound
attack. Wheeler goes for a submission but they break apart and
stand. Wheelers face is quickly becoming a crimson mask. Campuzano
lands a straight right that staggers Wheeler and ends the round
with successive head kicks, but Wheeler won’t go down.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-8 for Campuzano.
R3
– Wheeler lands an overhand right, but eats a right hand-knee
to the body combination. Wheeler looking tired, but showing lots
of heart. Campuzano landing two to every one of Wheeler’s
shots. Wheeler squinting with his right eye; definitely having
trouble seeing out of that eye. Wheeler gasping for air with
his mouth wide open. Campuzano maintaining center ring and landing
short combinations, almost at will. Wheeler shoots, but Campuzano
defends and lays down a battering of hammerfists. Wheeler persists
and gets Campuzano to his back, but Campuzano escapes and they’re
back on their feet. Wheeler shoots and eats a knee from Campuzano,
who follows with several more jumping knees to end the round.
Gutsy performance by Wheeler, but it was all Campuzano as the
fight wore on.
MMAWeekly
scores the round 10-8 for Campuzano
Will
Compuzano def. Coty Wheeler by Unanimous Decision (30-26, 30-27,
30-27)
WEC
46 QUICK RESULTS:
WEC
46 Main Bouts:
-Ben Henderson def. Jamie Varner by Submission (Guillotine Choke)
at 2:41, R3
-Urijah Faber def. Raphael Assuncao by Submission (Rear Naked
Choke) at 3:49, R3
-Kamal Shalorus def. Dave Jansen by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 29-28), R3
-Mike Brown def. Anthony Morrison by Submission (Rear Naked Choke)
at 1:54, R1
-Deividas Taurosevicius def. Mackens Semerzier by Unanimous Decision
(29-28, 29-28, 29-28), R3
WEC
46 Preliminary Bouts:
-Charlie Valencia def. Akitoshi Tamura by Split Decision (29-28,
28-29, 29-28), R3
-Wagnney Fabiano def. Clint Godfrey by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27), R3
-Mark Hominick def. Brian Caraway by Submission (Armbar) at 3:48,
R1
-Eddie Wineland def. George Roop by Unanimous Decision (30-27,
30-27, 30-27), R3
-Will Compuzano def. Coty Wheeler by Unanimous Decision (30-26,
30-27, 30-27), R3
Source: MMA Weekly
|
VERA
VS. JONES OFFICIAL FOR MARCH 21 ON VERSUS
Brandon Vera versus Jon Jones was officially announced for March
21 at UFC Fight Night 21 on Versus during the WEC 46 broadcast,
headlining the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s first card
on the network.
Vera
heads into the fight coming off a loss to Randy “The Natural”
Couture at UFC 105 in an extremely close bout. At the end of
the night Couture got the unanimous decision nod.
Jon
Jones is coming off a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill at
“The Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale.” Jones was dominating
the fight and landed a series of illegal elbows rendering Hamill
unable to continue.
Broomfield,
Colorado will host the event.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
WEC
46 PRELIMINARY FIGHTS DELIVER
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – WEC 46: Varner vs. Henderson opened
with the promise of excitement. Will Campuzano and Coty “Ox”
Wheeler were more the obliged to accommodate. And although the
Wagnney Fabiano and Clint Godfrey’s fight stalled the action
somewhat, the majority of the preliminary fight card delivered
to the fans at the ARCO Arena.
In
the closest fight of the preliminary card, Charlie Valencia eked
out a split decision victory over Japanese import Akitoshi Tamura.
The two went toe-to-toe, literally, trading kicks most of the
night. Tamura came close with several near submissions, but it
was Valencia’s striking and aggressive pursuit that edged
it out on the judges’ scorecards, two judges scoring it
29-28 for Valencia, one scoring it 29-28 for Tamura.
Wagnney
Fabiano is one of the most dominant grapplers in the world, unfortunately
that doesn’t always equate to an exciting fight. He dominated
WEC debutant Clint Godfrey at WEC 46, but primarily through position,
doing little if any damage. Godfrey tried mightily to push the
fight, but was stymied at every attempt. Fabiano rode out the
fight, literally as he was in a top half-mount position the entire
bout, to earn a unanimous decision.
“Underestimate
me,” says Mark Hominick.
Known
for his striking, the Shawn Tompkins trained fighter was put
on his back early by WEC newcomer Brian Caraway. Attempting several
passes and picking away with ground and pound, Caraway couldn’t
find a way through Hominick’s active guard defenses.
Late
in the first frame, Hominick attempted a sweep. The sweep ended
up being a bait that Caraway took, leaving his arm in as he defended,
Hominick latching on to finish with an armbar.
While
he’s known for a strong wrestling base, Eddie Wineland used
old school boxing to defeat former UFC lightweight George Roop
in their 135-pound contest on Sunday night. Wineland looked like
he would run away with it in the opening round, using good head
movement to make Roop miss and then fire back with hard overhand
rights. He kept the head movement up, but his offense slowed
as the fight progressed, but it was still enough to earn a unanimous
decision victory.
Will
Campuzano started off the preliminary fight card with a very
impressive performance against a more than game Coty “Ox”
Wheeler. Try as Wheeler might, throwing everything but the kitchen
at Campuzano, he couldn’t find the counter to the onslaught
of flying knees and sharp punch combinations that were constantly
coming his way. Campuzano, however, couldn’t put Wheeler
away, earning a unanimous decision.
Source: MMA Weekly
|
Hermes
França hangs up his gloves
At
35 years of age, Hermes França announced his retirement
from the rings this Friday. The beast from Fortaleza, the capital
of Ceará, hangs up his gloves after 19 victories and eight
defeats in MMA, aside from already being a champion in the WEC
lightweights.
The
news was confirmed by the Jiu-Jitsu black belt impresario, Reed
Wallace, for the MMAWeekly site. França’s decision
was weighed by poor results. In the last four fights, three were
defeats, and the fighter admits that his body can no longer withstand
the wear and tear to work at high performance levels, a requirement
of current MMA.
“The
fans gave me the passion and the strength that kept me in the
high-level competition all these years. Without them, I wouldn’t
have been able to do it. I owe all of this to the fans,”
said França.
During
his career, Hermes beat opponents like Caol Uno, Mike Brown,
Nate Diaz, Spencer Fisher, and Marcus Aurélio. He also
engaged battle with stars like Sean Sherk and Tyson Griffin.
In addition to dedicating himself more to his family, he will
now focus on teaching students at the East West Combat Club academy
in Syracuse, New York.
Left
to his fans is the memory of the brazen fighter from the Northeast
with died hair, always up for putting on exciting fights in the
Octagons of life. But don’t be fooled: those who know Hermes
know the fight is not over. Wait for the next World No-Gi Championship
and check out the beast in action.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
“Our
goal is to do well in Europe, and soar in the Worlds”
Gilbert
Burns, known as Durinho, impressed everyone in the last Jiu-Jitsu
World Championship when he defeated lightweight favorites like
Lucas Lepri, and was hit only at the end by the champion Michael
Langhi.
This
season, the Atos Jiu-Jitsu black belt hopes to do well in all
the competitions and at the first opportunity will be in the
European Championship, which takes place on the 28th to the 31st
of January in Lisbon, Portugal (Register here).
Check
out the fighter’s chat with GRACIEMAG.com.
Durinho
after the victory over Lepri at the World Championship in Long
Beach.
How
are preparations going for the European Championship?
I’m already enrolled, nearly at weight, and training very
hard to do well again. Everyone is focused here in Rio Claro,
São Paulo. Guto Campos arrived from the South, the Mendes
brothers are also training hard, and Bruno Frazatto will arrive
soon. We also have some new black belts who are coming strong,
like Rodrigo Caporal, who will fight featherweight with Rafael
Mendes. Everyone is very focused on showing up prepared for the
European Championship, to later soar at the World Championship.
Last
year you impressed everyone for the lightweights at the World
Championship. Are you fighting in the European Championship in
the same category?
I’ll be in lightweight. My weight had gone up a little at
the end of the year, but I’m almost there and I’ll
be strong in the category. I’m training to continue the
work that was done last year. The guys are fighting there, saying
they are number one, and I’m just here training. Jacaré
in lightweight is getting there! Frazatto will decide if he’s
going lightweight, too, and I hope that we can do well together
there.
What
is the main focus for you and the team this season?
The main focus is always the World Championship. We won’t
leave out on other competitions, like the Abu Dhabi Championship
and others. We want to fight them all, but mainly it’s the
World Championship. Ramon (Lemos) is making a timeline here for
us and we’ll organize it. We want to be at the Pan and at
the Brazilian, too. We’ll do it for all the fans and the
team, which shortly will be one year old.
You
recently took a series of trips through Asia. What did you learn
there?
They were needing a black belt to give lessons in Singapore,
a project that Ramon is in charge of. At first, there were only
six students and I got a good response. It was very productive,
and in the end we already had around 30 students. We have three
branches in Asia and there will be more. It was important because
I could train the muay thai and boxing part a lot, since up ahead
something could happen at MMA. Now, in January, another group
will go there to keep working. I loved it. I’d never been
to Asia and was very well received in Singapore, the Philippines,
and Hong Kong.
Source: Gracie Magazine
|
Paulo
Filho back to the octagon on February
Bitetti
Combat already started the preparations to the sixth edition
of the event, that will happen on February 27 in Brasília,
Brazil. Paulo Filho, Glover Teixeira and Fabio Maldonado and
already confirmed by the organization.
“We’ll
try to set a good card again. Besides the feminine fight, this
time we want that all the others to be between Brazilians and
international athletes”, Amaury Bitetti said, who’s
in Miami, USA, from where he will bring some news.
“We
already have some fighters on negotiation, but we’ll only
announce ahead. To bring athletes from outside to fight in Brazil
is not easy. On the last edition everything was alright and,
on the last time, we had some lows. We’ll work hard for
that won’t happen again”, complete the promoter Fernando
Miranda.
Source: Tatame
|
Quote
of the Day
"The
creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
|
UFC
Fight Night 20 in Virginia (1/11 Patriot Center)
Tonight
Television:
Spike TV
Dark
matches
¦Middleweights
(185 pounds): Nick Catone vs. Jesse Forbes
¦Middleweights (185 pounds): Gerald Harris vs. Mike Massenzio
¦Lightweights (155 pounds): Kyle Bradley vs. Rafael Dos
Anjos
¦Welterweights (170 pounds): Mike Guymon vs. Rory MacDonald
¦Lightweights (155 pounds): Thiago Tavares vs. Nik Lentz
¦Welterweights (170 pounds): Rick Story vs. Jesse Lennox
¦Middleweights (185 pounds): Chris Leben vs. Jay Silva
Main card
¦Welterweights
(170 pounds): Amir Sadollah vs. Brad Blackburn
¦Middleweights (185 pounds): Tom Lawlor vs. Aaron Simpson
¦Lightweights (155 pounds): Efrain Escudero vs. Evan Dunham
¦Lightweights (155 pounds): Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz
Source: Fight Opinion
|
Destiny
at Level 4!
Saturday,
January 30, 2009
Level 4 Nightclub at Royal Hawaiian Shopping Ctr
Prelim Fights start at 4:00 pm (main card at 7:30 pm)
DESTINY Entertainment opens up the New Year with a BANG. DESTINY:
Fireworks Saturday, Jan 30th @ Hawaii's Premier and Largest Night
Club LEVEL 4.
Full
night of action. 28 fights...ALL MMA. Pre-lim fights start @
4pm for all u hardcore mma fans. Feature bouts start @ 7:30pm
for those who want to just see the main card. THIS IS AN ALL
AGES WELCOME EVENT!
Purchase
of ticket gets you into huge after party to celebrate my B-day
:) which begins @ 11pm and will run to 4am...come party with
the fighters!
Fight
Card:
-170lbs
Zane Kamaka (Guts n Glory) vs Dereck Stadler
-170
Amateur Title
Johnavan "the immortal warrior" Vistante (Team SYD)
vs Koa Giddens (Combat 50)
-145
Amateur Title
Elijah Manners (808 Alliance) vs Keoni Farm (Team 323, Maui)
-145lbs
Dustin Kimura (Gracie Technics) vs Colin Mackenzie (Gods Army)
-185lbs
Danny Lopez (Bulls Pen) vs Charles Hazlewood (Combat 50)
-145lbs
Toby "2quick" Misech (Penn Fitness & Training,
Hilo) vs Max "lil evil" Holloway (Gods Army)
-135lbs
FEMALE MATCH
Racquel Paaluhi (Team Hakuilua) vs Kristen Jackobson (Pain Train)
-205lbs
Matt Eaton (Bulls Pen) vs Wilmer Cruz (Pain Train)
-155lbs
Treston Rebaliza (ICG) vs Shaison Laupola (Gods Army)
-145lbs
Daniel Bachman (Boars Nest) vs Van Shiroma (HMC)
-185lbs
Robert Eaton (Bulls Pen) vs Nate Kolii (High Intensity)
-125lbs
Skyler Close (Boars Nest) vs Ernest Keuma (freelance)
-145lbs
Lucky Rosario (Bulls Pen) vs Clayson Kealoha (Bad Intentions)
-160lbs
Tyrone Oneil (Pain Train) vs Ryan Delacruz (808 FF)
-125lbs
Alika Kumukoa (Bulls Pen) vs Jason Dumol (808 FF)
-210lbs
Kimo Tatupu (94 Block) vs Lyle Guerzon (New Era MMA)
-140lbs
Zach Close (Boars Nest) vs Gavin Ramos (808 Fight Factory)
-155lbs
Gary (Bulls Pen) vs Justin Burgess (Gods Army)
-125lbs
Josh Kolii (freelance) vs Brandon Pai (Gods Army)
-145lbs
Julius Fajotina (Bulls Pen) vs Mark Reynon (808 FF)
-170lbs
Eddie Manu (High Intensity) vs Jason Morinaga (New Era MMA)
-155lbs
Francis Aona (freelance) vs Carlos Oso (808 FF)
-175lbs
Lloyd Saltiban vs Jon Cruz (freelance)
-155lbs
Alex Miller (Guts n Glory) vs Justin Adkins (Pain Train)
-170lbs
Wilfred Balon (Bulls Pen) vs Mike Eli (Gods Army)
-Heavyweights
(206-260)
Terrance Taanoa (High Intensity) vs Scooter Butan (Pain Train)
-155lbs
Layton Pacheco (freelance) vs Micah Ige
-180lbs
Philip Akui vs Dwaine Uyeda (Team Outlaw)
-130lbs
Jai Troche (No Remorse/UFS) vs Wai P. (Team Outlaw)
Source: Jay Bolos
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UFC
FIGHT NIGHT 20: WEIGH-IN RESULTS
The Ultimate Fighting Championship descends upon Virginia for
the first time on Monday night. Gray Maynard vs. Nate Diaz headlines
UFC Fight Night 20 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Va. The
fighters weighed in Sunday afternoon for the promotion’s
first-ever Monday night event.
Interestingly,
every fighter on the card was exactly on his contracted weight.
Not a single fighter was slightly over or slightly under.
Maynard,
who is said to be very near a title shot should he get past Diaz
on Monday night, stepped on the scale at 155 pounds, as did Diaz.
The
night’s co-main event features The Ultimate Fighter season
8 lightweight winner Efrain Escudero putting his 12-0 record
on the line against the also undefeated Evan Dunham. Escudero
had no trouble making weight, recording 155 pounds, while Dunham
also tipped the scales at 155.
Main
Bouts:
-Gray Maynard (155) vs. Nate Diaz (155)
-Efrain Escudero (155) vs. Evan Dunham (155)
-Aaron Simpson (185) vs. Tom Lawlor (185)
-Amir Sadollah (170) vs. Brad Blackburn (170)
Preliminary
Bouts:
-Chris Leben (185) vs. Jay Silva (185)
-Jesse Lennox (170) vs. Rick Story (170)
-Nik Lentz (155) vs. Thiago Tavares (155)
-Mike Guymon (170) vs. Rory MacDonald (170)
-Kyle Bradley (155) vs. Rafael dos Anjos (155)
-Gerald Harris (185) vs. John Salter (185)
-Nick Catone (185) vs. Jesse Forbes (185)
Source: MMA Weekly
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KURT
PELLEGRINO RETURNS HOME AT UFC 111
The home state fans will have at least one more Jersey boy too
root for on the upcoming UFC card in Newark as Kurt "Batman"
Pellegrino has been confirmed for a fight on the March 27 card.
Pellegrino's
involvement with the card was confirmed by sources close to the
fighter to MMAWeekly.com on Saturday.
At
this time, there has been no word on who will face Pellegrino
in a lightweight bout on the card, but more fight announcements
are expected from the UFC in the coming days.
The
New Jersey based fighter was originally set to compete on the
season 10 "Ultimate Fighter" finale show in December
against Frankie Edgar, but a back injury sidelined Pellegrino
and formed him off the card.
Now
back and healthy, Pellegrino looks to build on his current 3-fight
win streak in the UFC when he returns to action in March.
Stay
tuned to MMAWeekly.com for more information on Pellegrino's opponent
as it becomes available.
Source: MMA Weekly
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BRAD
BLACKBURN BELIEVES IT'S HIS TIME TO SHINE
One of the UFC’s best kept secrets, Brad Blackburn, is making
his return Monday night at UFC Fight Night 20 in Fairfax, Va.
Blackburn
was last seen in action in a winning effort over fellow welterweight
Edgar Garcia last June, where in his third appearance for the
UFC he suffered what would be a debilitating injury that put
a damper on the remainder of 2009.
“The
injury happened in the first round of my last fight,” he
said while speaking with MMAWeekly Radio show hosts Damon Martin
and Jeff Cain recently.
“Edgar
Garcia slammed me down on my shoulder and it separated my AC
joint and tore my labrum. My shoulder was killing me and making
crunching noises every time I tried to throw it in my last fight
and basically after a minute into the fight, I didn’t really
have no right hand, no power at all.”
The
former International Fight League (IFL) standout has seen a resurgence
in his career since transitioning to the UFC on the heels of
two wins over Delson Heleno and Jay Hieron sandwiched between
a “no contest.” Though a 15-9-1 record may not be the
shiniest, a 3-0 run in the largest organization in the world
is sure to turn heads.
Hitting
his stride, Blackburn is gunning for the top of the heap. Although
Amir Sadollah is not one to be in the talks for title contention
anytime soon, he is a name and one that Blackburn would like
to add to his list of victims.
Plus
some money to help to ring the New Year wouldn’t be so bad.
“It
did matter, but I’m broke, so I can’t be too picky,”
said Blackburn in regards to the decision to take on Sadollah
as opposed to a Top 10 opponent.
“It
comes to a point where you need some money because you only fought
once in the last year. But I did want one of two things. I wanted
somebody that was Top 10 or somebody with a big name and Amir
definitely has a big name being ‘The Ultimate Fighter’
winner and with the win over Phil Baroni, so I took it and that’s
what I’m getting out of this fight.”
Despite
his undefeated run, Blackburn has yet to grace the televised
portion of his three UFC appearances. Finally garnering some
much-deserved attention, his bout with Sadollah kicks off the
main card on Monday night, something that the 32-year-old hopes
to make a trend.
“Amir
has a lot fans and that means a lot of people are going to be
watching. That means that a lot of people are going to see me
fight and for a lot of people it will be the first time they
see me fight,” he relayed.
“I’m
excited to have my first (televised fight.)”
Excited
and ready to go after an eager six months due to inactivity,
the Seattle native is confident in own abilities, sure that Sadollah’s
lack of fights will be his downfall. Blackburn is anticipating
that Monday night will be his time to let everyone know that
he has finally arrived.
“I
don’t think he’s fought a real good striker yet...
I’ve been in there with strikers and he hasn’t, so
this is going to be his first time. I’m hoping the experience
will benefit me in this one.
“This
is my chance to shine and that’s exactly how I look at it.
This is people’s first chance to see me and I want to win
impressively in a dominant fashion. A fight is a fight, nobody
is guaranteed nothing, but that’s what I would like to do.
I would like to go out there and show that I’m a superior
fighter in this situation.”
Source: MMA Weekly
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REPORTS:
BROCK LESNAR WILL FIGHT AGAIN
It's been six months since UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar
has set foot in the Octagon, but if recent reports contrary to
some of the more dire prognostications are accurate, he may be
back before another six months lapse.
Marty
Morgan, the assistant head wrestling coach at the University
of Minnesota and one of Lesnar's trainers, told Sportsnet.ca's
Joe Ferraro, "Everyone's asking about (Brock's) health.
He had a bout with a bacterial infection in his intestinal tract
in November, and now we're just kind of working our way to get
back to where we need to get back to fight."
While
recent speculation suggested Lesnar might never be able to fight
again, or at least have a recovery that might best be measured
in years, Morgan definitively countered such talk. "He will
fight again. I know that it's just a matter of the public finding
out when soon enough."
Former
UFC heavyweight and light heavyweight champion Randy Couture,
speaking with Inside MMA's Ron Kruck, reinforced Morgan's comments.
"I
spoke with Brock; I don't think his career is over. I think they've
got the issues he's been having under control and he's back training,"
relayed the UFC Hall of Famer. "I think he will be back
in the Octagon this spring and ready to fight again."
That's
a far cry from just a week ago when Lesnar's future was still
very much in doubt.
"This
week Brock Lesnar is going back to the doctor, getting fully
checked out by one of the best doctors and hospitals in the world,"
said UFC president Dana White following last week's UFC 108 in
Las Vegas.
"If
the doctors say things are going well and things are going in
the right direction then maybe we're a few months away from him
coming back. If it's not going in the right direction, he'll
either be done and have to retire or he'll be out for a couple
years. So, hopefully we get good news."
Apparently
the news was good.
There's
still no definite answer to when Lesnar will return, but it now
sounds like his return is imminent.
In
the meantime, former champion Frank Mir will face top contender
Shane Carwin for the interim heavyweight title at UFC 111 on
March 27 in New Jersey.
Source: MMA Weekly
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TITLE
TALK ASIDE, MAYNARD JUST WANTS TO WIN
Undefeated in the Octagon, it’s not surprising that Xtreme
Couture fighter Gray Maynard is on the radar for a title shot
against current UFC lightweight champion B.J. Penn.
Penn
expects to next defend his title at an as yet unannounced event
on April 10 in Abu Dhabi. Maynard has been mentioned alongside
Frankie Edgar as the most likely candidates to challenge him.
Maynard
first has another challenge. He headlines Monday night’s
UFC Fight Night 20 in Virginia against Nate Diaz, a fighter he
lost to on the Spike TV reality series “The Ultimate Fighter.”
It’s a challenge he doesn’t care to look beyond.
“It
was a good camp, and what on my mind the whole time is just Nate,”
Maynard said earlier this week. “I don’t really care
what’s going on or what might happen or what could happen.
It’s all just could of, would have, whatever.
“I’ll
deal with that on Jan. 12.”
The
bouts on TUF don’t count towards a fighters official record,
but a loss is a loss, and reality show or not, the loss to Diaz
doesn’t sit well with the former U.S. Olympic wrestling
hopeful. He does, however, keep it in perspective.
“Any
time you lose, it sucks, bad. It was a tough loss,” said
Maynard.
“I
don’t think that was the best me or the best Nate, even
at the time. That TV show was the worst, it was horrible. It
was on the last day and we both just wanted to leave, go home.
But he did the job; I left with a loss. It hurt of course, but
I knew I had a long way to go, so I just tried to keep going
and train.”
Keep
going he did, and he hasn’t slowed down.
Maynard
has wracked up eight victories opposite no defeats, winning six
straight fights since leaving the show. His hit list includes
the best in the division; fighters like Jim Miller, Frankie Edgar,
and Roger Huerta.
Maynard
and Diaz are both accomplished fighters. Both have worked hard
to improve their stand-up games. Both are considered tremendous
grapplers, albeit with vastly different styles. Maynard comes
from a collegiate wrestling background, while Diaz is a jiu-jitsu
ace.
It
will come down to who has improved the most since that fateful
fight on the final day of The Ultimate Figher’s fifth season,
and Maynard aims to prove that he is the one that has upped his
game the most. If he doesn’t, that title shot on the horizon,
will remain right where it’s at, on the horizon.
Source: MMA Weekly
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Aoki
is fired by Yuki Nakai
The
Shinya Aoki soap got another episode this week. It all started
after the controversial fighter, one of the big stars of Japanese
MMA, made obscene gestures with his middle finger to the audience
and his opponent, Mizuto Hirota, after finalizing at Dynamite!!,
an event that took place on December 31st, in Japan.
Retaliation
from the Japanese MMA Federation and the Sngoku event, one of
the Dynamite!! organizers in this last edition, were already
reported here at GRACIEMAG.com. Now it was Aoki’s academy’s
turn, Paraestra Tokyo, to retaliate.
Through
a note released on the team’s site, the masters Yuki Nakai
and Taro Wakabayashi informed that Aoki was fired from their
staff of instructors. However, this does not mean that the Jiu-Jitsu
black belt is expelled from the academy; he only won’t be
able to give classes.
The
question remains: is this really a severe or average punishment
to avoid stronger punishments from the Japanese organizations?
Wait for the upcoming episodes.
Source: Gracie Magazine
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Professor
is honored by three Gracies
The
graduation party for Professor Luiz Manimal in Rio was special.
The
master of giants like Raphael Abi-Rihan and other stars received
his fifth degree in black belt by the grandmaster Carlos Robson
Gracie in December.
“I’m
very honored for having received the blue, purple, brown, and
black belts from three masters: Carlos Gracie Junior, Carlson
Gracie, and Robson Gracie!” said Manimal to GRACIEMAG.com.
“Today, when receiving the degree from Master Robson I really
felt the energy of my eternal master Carlson Gracie present.
Ossss!”
Source: Gracie Magazine
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Tavares:
“I’m not thinking about the belt”
Recovered
from injuries, Thiago Tavares will be back to the most famous
octagon of the world on this Monday, and he’s prepared to
one more challenge. Before the fight with Nik Lentz, the black
belt talked to TATAME about the fight. “I was born ready”,
Thiago guarantee. “I’m well prepared to hit him standing
up… I’ll fight whatever he wants to”. On the chat,
that you check below, Tavares talked about his wish to end 2010
with four more victories on his resume.
How
was the preparation for the fight?
The
trainings were good, I trained a lot of Muay Thai and boxing,
but I didn’t forget my main area, that’s Jiu-Jitsu,
obviously, but the expectation is to do my game standing up,
to go for it and give my best. If I give my best, I’ll have
the victory for sure.
What
do you know about him?
He
does a little bit of everything. He trains on the team of Sean
Sherk, Brock Lesnar...His focus is Wrestling, but I think that
he exchanges well standing up, he likes to kick a lot. He will
try to keep the fight standing up… On the last fight I fought
a lot standing up, on the penultimate fight I was hit by a knockdown,
so I think that he’ll try to take advantage of that and
beat me, but I’m well prepared to beat him standing up…
I’ll fight wherever he wants to.
You
always give shows on your fights. Who knows a prize for the best
fight happens again?
I
never fight thinking about the prize, but, when I fight, people
knows what to wait from me. I never get in thinking about bonus,
I think about the victory, only about the victory. Sometimes,
the victory comes with a bonus, sometimes, even the defeat, but
the important is that I’m doing my work the best way I can
(laugh). The dedication will be given at the most.
And
what’s the expectation to this year, after the injuries
in 2009?
My
expectation is to do four fights. I started in January and is
quite possible to do four fights and go on. I came from victory
and go on with four victories will be important, I’ll winning
space. I’m thinking on one fight for time, I’m not
thinking about no f… belt. My aim is Nik Lentz, then another
fight in March and I’ll coming, step by step, up stairs.
Source: Tatame
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